UPDATE 1-Pakistan courts US with pitch for new Arabian sea port, FT reports

Advisers to Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have approached U.S. officials with an offer to build and run a port on the Arabian Sea, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing a plan seen by the newspaper.

The plan envisages American investors building and operating a terminal to access Pakistan's critical minerals in the town of Pasni, according to the FT. Pasni is a port town in Gwadar District in the province of Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran. The move comes after Munir, along with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, held a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in September. In that meeting, Sharif sought investment from U.S. companies in the agriculture, technology, mining and energy sectors for investment.

According to the FT, the offer was floated with some U.S. officials, and was shared with Munir ahead of a meeting with Trump in the White House late last month. The blueprint excludes the use of the port for U.S. military bases, and instead aims to attract development finance for a rail network linking the port to mineral-rich western provinces, the FT report added.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The U.S. State Department, White House, and Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Pakistani Army could not immediately be reached.

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