- No official talks with Washington on Pasni port, reports Pakistan TV citing senior security official
- Senior security official tells PTV there is ‘no plan to hand over Pasni’s security to any foreign power’
- FT report claimed Pakistan Army chief’s advisers approached US officials with port proposal
- Pasni seen as potential deep-sea port site; FT report linked idea to US investment
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday dismissed reports that it had offered the United States to build and operate a proposed port at Pasni, clarifying that there had been no official communication with Washington and any conversations on the matter were “purely exploratory,” according state-run Pakistan TV citing a senior security official.
The denial came after a Financial Times report earlier this week claimed that advisers to Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, had approached US officials with a proposal to construct and manage a port on the Arabian Sea. The report said the proposed facility — in the coastal town of Pasni, located in Balochistan’s Gwadar district — would enable American investors to develop and operate the port to facilitate access to Pakistan’s vast reserves of critical minerals.
A senior security official told state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) on Sunday that the report “does not represent any official government or military policy.”
“Conversations with private companies were exploratory, not official initiatives,” the official was quoted as saying on condition of anonymity.
“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,” he added.
The official further emphasised that no proposal for a Pasni port project had been formally shared with the United States or cleared by any government forum.
“Pasni’s location may make it significant in global geopolitics … but at this stage, it is only an idea, not an initiative,” the official noted.
The Financial Times report had suggested that the plan was discussed with some US officials and shared with Gen Munir ahead of his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House late last month. According to the British daily, the concept envisions American investment in developing a port and associated rail infrastructure to link Pasni with Pakistan’s mineral-rich western provinces, particularly Balochistan.
However, Pakistan TV reported that any such concept may have originated from private quarters but was “never routed through official channels or reviewed at a strategic level.”
The US State Department, White House, Pakistan’s Foreign Office, and the Pakistan Army have not issued any formal statements on the FT report.
Pasni — a small fishing town with an estimated population of 70,000 — has long been regarded as a potential site for port development because of its naturally deep waters and strategic position on the Arabian Sea. Analysts say the area could complement or compete with nearby Gwadar Port, which is being developed with heavy Chinese investment under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The FT noted that the Pasni proposal does not include any provisions for US military bases, but rather seeks development financing and logistical partnerships. If realised, such a venture would give the US a commercial foothold in a region where China’s influence has expanded significantly in recent years.
Observers believe that any formal move on the Pasni project could further complicate Islamabad’s delicate balancing act between Washington and Beijing. The idea also underscores Pakistan’s search for foreign investment and its ongoing efforts to revive the economy amid IMF-backed structural reforms.
For now, officials maintain that the discussions are merely conceptual.
“There is no agreement, no formal engagement, and no policy shift,” the security official reiterated.
“Pakistan’s sovereignty and strategic assets will remain fully under national control.”
