QUETTA: Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Dr. Sabiha Baloch on Sunday strongly denounced reports that Pakistan’s military leadership had offered the United States a proposal to develop a port in Pasni, terming the move “unacceptable without the knowledge or consent of the Baloch people.”
Her remarks came in response to a Financial Times report published on Friday, which stated that advisers to Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Asim Munir, had discussed with U.S. officials the possibility of American investors building and operating a port terminal in Pasni, Balochistan. The plan, while not explicitly for a military base, would reportedly allow Washington access to Pakistan’s critical minerals through the Arabian Sea and support infrastructure links to mineral-rich inland regions.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Dr. Sabiha Baloch condemned the proposal, asserting, “We strongly protest the Pakistan army chief’s reported offer to the United States to build a base in Pasni, made without our knowledge or consent. We are the rightful owners of this land and no decision about it can be made without our full participation and approval.”
She stressed that while Baloch communities support genuine development and trade, previous projects in the region “have only brought more restrictions, checkpoints and security zones.”
Dr. Baloch noted that residents of Pasni and the wider Makuran coast have long lived “under military pressure and insecurity,” with their land and waters repeatedly “handed over to foreign powers in the name of development.” She argued that agreements involving foreign countries, whether with China or now the United States—have been made “without consultation, consent, or justice.”
“The Baloch people are not opposed to development, but to being erased from it,” she said, describing the Baloch coast as “not a bargaining chip in a geopolitical game, but part of our home, history and identity.”
Warning of the consequences of further foreign involvement without local consent, Dr. Sabiha said such actions would “deepen repression and expand militarization” in Balochistan. “In our experience, ports and projects bring more military checkpoints than opportunities. They bring more surveillance than security or better lives. When a port is built, a prison also rises. Our disappeared are kept, tortured and dumped there,” she said.
Dr. Sabiha appealed directly to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and the U.S. Consulate in Karachi to ensure transparency and public consultation before engaging in any agreements with Pakistani military officials. “There must be transparency. There must be consultation. There must be genuine participation of the local population,” she emphasized.
