Protecting American Commercial Investments in Pakistan

The Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism (CT) announces this funding opportunity to protect American economic and security interests by supporting Pakistan’s law enforcement counterterrorism abilities in Balochistan Province. This program should deliver concrete returns for American taxpayers by safeguarding U.S. commercial access to critical minerals essential to technological advancement, defense manufacturing, and economic competitiveness. Balochistan Province contains significant deposits of critical minerals essential to American national security and economic prosperity. The 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS) emphasizes “economic security is fundamental to national security” and calls for securing “independent and reliable access to the goods we need to defend ourselves and preserve our way of life.” Terrorist organizations operating in Balochistan, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), ISIS-K, and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), pose persistent threats to regional stability that directly threaten American access to these strategic resources. This program should be designed to reduce Pakistan’s long-term dependency on U.S. taxpayer resources by building sustainable Pakistani law enforcement capabilities to independently identify, disrupt, and deter terrorist networks. Through protection of critical infrastructure technical assistance and potential complementary equipment provision, the program should enable Pakistan to assume greater responsibility for counterterrorism operations in Balochistan without ongoing U.S. support. All activities must emphasize Pakistani ownership, institutional capability, and graduation to self-sufficiency.