London (RepublicPK) – The British newspaper Financial Times has claimed that Pakistan has offered the United States an opportunity to build and operate a new port at Pasni, a coastal town in Balochistan along the Arabian Sea.
According to the report, advisers to Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, approached US officials with the proposal, which envisions American investors developing Pasni into a terminal for transporting critical minerals from Pakistan’s interior. The plan also includes the construction of a rail network linking the port to mineral-rich western provinces, but explicitly rules out any military use of the facility.
Pasni, located near the borders of Afghanistan and Iran and roughly 70 miles from China-backed Gwadar Port, has long been considered strategically significant. The Financial Times noted that the offer was floated ahead of Field Marshal Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House in late September. During that meeting, Sharif sought American investment in agriculture, technology, mining, and energy sectors.
The report suggests that while preliminary discussions took place before the high-level meeting, the proposal gained traction afterward, with Pakistani officials encouraging US investors to explore the project.
On the other hand, Reuters reported that it attempted to obtain comments from both American and Pakistani officials regarding the development but received no immediate response.