The development comes days after US President Donald Trump met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir during their visit to the White House. Later, the White House had released photos of Sharif and Munir presenting Trump with a display case of mineral samples.
As the bonhomie between Islamabad and Washington grows, Pakistan has reportedly offered the Unites States to build and operate a port on the Arabian Sea. According to a report by Financial Times, Pakistan has proposed that the US develops the civilian port in Pasni, which is a town located near the Gwadar district in Balochistan.
Notably, Pasni is near to Iran’s Chabahar port, which is being developed by India.
The Financial Times report claimed advisors to Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have approached top US officials about the offer that would cost up to USD 1.2 billion. However, the offer excludes direct US military basing and says that the proposed port in Pasni “would be linked to a new railway to transport minerals from Pakistanโs interior”, the report claimed.ย
“Pasniโs proximity to Iran and Central Asia enhances US options for trade and security… Engagement at Pasni would counterbalance Gwadar… and expand US influence in the Arabian Sea and Central Asia,” the blueprint of the plan states, as reported by the Financial Times. “Chinaโs Gwadar investments under the Belt and Road Initiative raise dual-use concerns.”
Trump’s meet with Munir, Sharif and growing bonhomie between US, Pakistan
The development comes days after US President Donald Trump met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Munir during their visit to the White House. Later, the White House had released photos of Sharif and Munir presenting Trump with a display case of mineral samples.
Since Trump’s return to the office, the bonhomie between the US and Pakistan has been increasing, raising concerns in India. The Republican president had also taken claim for ceasefire between India and Pakistan after the former launched Operation Sindoor in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Although India has rejected Trump’s claim of mediation, Pakistan has thanked him and even nominated him for Nobel Peace Prize.ย
Quoting a Pakistani adviser, the Financial Times reported that the entire narrative of Washington-Islamabad relationship changed after the four-day skirmish between India and Pakistan, and the latter hopes that bond between them continues to increase. “It was very bad before then. We had not tended the relationship as we should have. In the last two decades the Indians occupied the space in the vacuum,” the Pakistani adviser said.
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