This is apropos two back-to-back letters to the Editor from this writer carried by the newspaper on Thursday and yesterday. It is important to note that during his Washington visit, the Pakistan army chief field marshal Asim Munir reportedly offered exclusive access to US companies for mining ventures in Balochistan, an area rich in copper, lithium, and rare earth elements vital for high-tech industries, semiconductors, and space exploration. Reuters reported on May 23, 2025, that Pakistan’s Commerce Minister promised concessions for US firms to secure multi-billion-dollar investments and attract alternative financing away from China’s $60 billion CPEC monopoly. The Reko Diq copper-gold project, already partly backed by US funding, could become one of the largest globally, producing up to 800,000 tons of copper and 250,000 ounces of gold annually by 2028.
This economic cooperation moved further ahead on July 30, 2025, when Trump announced via Truth Social:
“We have just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves.”
Pakistan’s finance ministry called it a “new era of economic collaboration,” spanning energy, mining, IT, cryptocurrency, and other sectors. Talks included tariff suspensions on Pakistani textile exports to the US, which were worth over $3 billion in 2024, protecting a crucial lifeline for Pakistan’s struggling economy. Additionally, Pakistan is set to receive its first shipment of US crude oil in October 2025, marking a strategic shift away from its historic reliance on Gulf supplies.
Qamar Bashir
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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