Concerns over the consequences of a possible US presence at a Pakistani port.

During the recent official meeting between Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and US President Donald Trump at the White House, a picture caught everyone’s attention in which Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, the commander of the Pakistani army, in civilian clothes, presents Trump with samples of precious stones extracted from Pakistani mines.

Before this meeting, Pakistan announced that a $500 million agreement had been signed with the US in the field of mining, and at the same time, the US had imposed low tariffs on Pakistan.

After the recent meeting of the heads of government and the army of Pakistan with the US president, the British newspaper Financial Times claimed in a report that the advisers to the Pakistani army chief had suggested to the US president to be present in Pakistani territorial waters and to work on the development of the country’s southern port called “Pasni”.

The report states that Pakistan, as it seeks peace in its relations with the US at the same time as its strategic cooperation with China, is willing to have constructive cooperation with Beijing and Washington at the same time by having the US present in its ports.

The Financial Times reported that US investors are set to develop the coastal fishing town of Pasni as a terminal to access Pakistan’s vital mineral reserves. Pasni is just 100 miles from Iran and 70 miles from the Chinese-backed Pakistani port city of Gwadar. The initiative, which is not an official policy, shows how Pakistani officials are exploring ways to take advantage of the wider geopolitical developments in South Asia in recent months. The proposal has been raised with some US officials and was also shared with the Pakistani army chief before the Pakistani prime minister met Donald Trump at the White House late last month, according to two civilian advisers to the Pakistani army chief, who spoke on condition of anonymity.