By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday pushed back against reports that it had extended an offer to the United States for access to a proposed port in the coastal town of Pasni, with a senior security official insisting there had been no formal outreach to Washington and characterising any related talks as “purely exploratory.”
The statement, made to state-run Pakistan TV, followed a report this week in the Financial Times that advisers to Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, had approached US officials with a proposal to build and operate a port on the Arabian Sea. According to the FT, the plan would involve American investors developing and managing a port in the southwestern town of Pasni, in Balochistan’s Gwadar district, to help access Pakistan’s critical minerals.
Speaking anonymously to Pakistan TV, the senior security official made clear that the account did not align with any established government or military stance. “Conversations with private companies were exploratory, not official initiatives,” he said, as quoted by the state-run outlet. He went further, rejecting any notion of ceding control. “There is no plan to hand over Pasni’s security to any foreign power. The Chief of Army Staff does not have advisers in any official capacity. Linking these ideas directly to him is misleading and inaccurate,” the official added, stressing that Munir should not be tied to the suggestions.
Pasni, a modest fishing town with a population of about 70,000, has been eyed for years as a potential port site thanks to its naturally deep waters.“Pasni’s location may make it significant in global geopolitics … but at this stage, it is only an idea, not an initiative,” the official said.
Neither the US State Department nor the White House has commented on the FT report.
The Pakistan TV report indicated that the Pasni port proposal might have originated with private parties but was never channeled through official routes or evaluated at a strategic level. In contrast, the Financial Times reported that the proposal had been discussed with some US officials and shared with Munir before his meeting late last month with President Donald Trump at the White House.
The FT noted that the plan excludes any US military bases but calls for development financing to construct a rail network linking the port to Pakistan’s mineral-rich western provinces. China maintains a significant presence in nearby Gwadar, and a Pasni port backed by the US could provide Washington with a foothold in the area.
Such a move would introduce another dimension to the strategic rivalry between Washington and Beijing in the Indian Ocean. It could also challenge Islamabad’s efforts to maintain equilibrium in its relations with the two superpowers as it seeks essential foreign investment.
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