Pakistan, US advance rare earth minerals deal amid PTI's 'secret agreement' warning

Islamabad [Pakistan], October 6 : Pakistan and the United States are entering a new phase in their economic and strategic partnership as both sides advance towards implementing an agreement for the export of rare earth minerals, Dawn reported.

According to the report, US Strategic Metals (USSM), which signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pakistan in September, has sent its first consignment of mineral samples to the United States as part of the deal. The American firm plans to invest nearly USD 500 million to set up mineral processing and development facilities in Pakistan.

Sources in Washington told Dawn that the shipment marks a crucial step towards Pakistan's integration into the global critical minerals supply chain, a sector increasingly vital for industrial growth and national security worldwide.

The shipment, prepared domestically in coordination 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," adding 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."

As per Dawn, the agreement could give Pakistan a foothold in the global critical minerals market, potentially generating billions in revenue, creating employment, and enabling technology transfer. The country's untapped mineral reserves are estimated at around USD 6 trillion, placing it among the world's richest in natural resources.

For the United States, the collaboration promises greater access to essential raw materials while reducing dependency on dominant external suppliers that currently control the global minerals market.

However, Pakistan's opposition party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has voiced strong reservations about the agreement. PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqqas Akram urged the government to release full details of what he called "secret deals" with Washington.

Referring to the USSM shipment and a recent Financial Times report alleging a proposal to offer Pasni Port to the US, Akram said such "reckless, lopsided, and secretive agreements would further inflame the already volatile situation in the country."

He demanded that parliament and the public be taken into confidence and that "full details of all such deals be made public." Akram said PTI "would never accept agreements struck at the expense of the people and the state's interests."

Meanwhile, Dawn reported that military sources have rejected the claims made in the Financial Times report, clarifying that the proposal referred to in the article was "a commercial idea" rather than "official policy."

Akram also drew a historical parallel, urging 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 ultimately led to colonial control."

Amid growing tensions between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Akram alleged that their public disputes were a "well-thought-out plan" to "divert public attention from chronic national issues," Dawn reported.

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