WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is entering a new phase in its economic and strategic partnership with the US, as the two allies move closer to implementing a deal for the export of rare earth minerals.
However, the opposition PTI has raised concerns over these “secret deals” with the US, and called on the government to disclose the details of these agreements.
US Strategic Metals (USSM), which signed an MoU with Pakistan in September to invest roughly $500 million to establish mineral processing and development facilities in the country, recently dispatched its first consignment of mineral samples to the US to advance the deal.
Sources in Washington hope this will pave the way for Pakistan’s formal entry into the global supply chain for critical minerals, a sector of growing importance for global industries and national security.
The sample shipment, prepared locally in collaboration with the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), includes antimony, copper concentrate, and rare earth elements such as neodymium and praseodymium.
In a statement, USSM described the delivery as “a milestone in the Pakistan–US strategic partnership,” noting that the MOU “establishes a roadmap for cooperation across the entire mineral value chain — from exploration and processing to the establishment of refineries inside Pakistan.”
USSM CEO Stacy W. Hastie said the first delivery “opens an exciting chapter of collaboration between USSM and Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organisation, aimed at expanding trade and deepening friendship between our two countries.”
For Pakistan, the agreement offers a gateway into the global critical minerals economy, with the potential to generate billions of dollars in revenue, create jobs, and promote technology transfer.
The country’s mineral wealth is often estimated at around $6 trillion, placing it among the world’s most resource-rich nations.
For the US, the partnership promises access to key raw materials while reducing reliance on external monopolies that dominate the global minerals market.
Disclose secret deals
But not everyone is convinced that this and other similar deals will be a boon for Pakistan. In a statement, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqqas Akram demanded the government to disclose details of alleged secret deals with the United States.
Referring to the USSM shipment, as well as claims published by the Financial Times regarding a supposed plan to offer the Pasni Port to Washington, the spokesperson warned that such “reckless, lopsided, and secretive agreements would further inflame the already volatile situation in the country”.
He demanded that parliament and the nation be taken on board and that “full details of all such deals be made public.” Mr Akram stressed that PTI “would never accept agreements struck at the expense of the people and the state’s interests.”
Military sources have already disputed the claims made in the Financial Times report, calling the proposal “a commercial idea” rather than “official policy”.
He urged the government to learn from the “disastrous consequences” of Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s 1615 decision to grant trading rights to the British at Surat Port, which he said ultimately led to colonial control.
Commenting on simmering political tensions between the PPP and PML-N, Mr Akram stated that the public disagreements were a “well-thought-out plan” to “divert public attention from chronic national issues”.
