Munir aides pitch US on plan to build, run Arabian Sea port: Report

Advisers to Pakistan’s Army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, have approached US officials with a proposal to build and operate a port on the Arabian Sea, the Financial Times reported on Friday (Oct 3), in what is being seen as another desperate attempt to woo US President Donald Trump.

Pasni project and mineral access

The plan calls for American investors to develop a terminal in Pasni, a port town in Balochistan’s Gwadar district, giving access to Pakistan’s critical minerals.

The province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, remains restive with a long-running insurgency by Baloch groups and allegations of human rights abuses by the Pakistani state.

Trump-Munir White House meeting

The proposal comes after Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met US President Donald Trump at the White House in late September, where Sharif sought American investment in agriculture, technology, mining and energy.

According to the report, the offer was conveyed to some US officials and shown to Munir ahead of his talks with Trump.

The plan rules out any US military use of the port and instead seeks financing for a rail corridor connecting Pasni to Pakistan’s mineral-rich western provinces.

Trump’s outreach to Pakistan marks a departure from Joe Biden, who kept Islamabad at arm’s length due to its ties with the Taliban during the US war in Afghanistan.

AFP reported that shortly before the May conflict with India, a company run by the Trump family signed a cryptocurrency agreement with Islamabad.

Sharif praises Trump as ‘man of peace’

Last month, Trump hosted Sharif and Munir at the White House to discuss regional security and counter-terrorism.

Sharif, the first Pakistani leader to visit the White House in six years, hailed Trump as a “man of peace” for his “sincere efforts” to end conflicts worldwide and praised his “courageous and decisive” leadership in brokering a ceasefire with India.