Pakistan has approached US officials with an offer to build and run a port on the Arabian Sea. According to reports, Pakistani army chief Asim Munir’s advisers approached the US with the plan after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, held a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House in September.
The report published in the Financial Times says that the plan will allow American investors to build and operate a terminal to access Pakistan’s critical minerals in the town of Pasni, a port town in Gwadar District in the province of Balochistan.
The move comes after Munir in his meeting with Trump in September had sought investments by US companies in the fields of agriculture, technology, mining and energy.
According to FT, the idea was actually floated to some US officials in September and shared with Munir ahead of a meeting with Trump.
The blueprint does not mention use of the port for any military purpose for the US but aims at attracting finances for a rail network linking the port to mineral-rich western provinces.
There has not been any official confirmation in this regard either by Pakistan of any US official so far.
Sharif, Munir and Trump meeting
US President Donald Trump met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir at the White House on September 25 to discuss bilateral ties.
This was the first formal bilateral interaction between Trump and Sharif, after former premier Imran Khan met the US leader six years back in 2019.
The meeting was held at the Oval Office in the White House and was attended by Vice President J. D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as per the statement released by the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
