Pakistan, Oct. 6 -- Somewhere between Islamabad and London, a rumour grew legs. A British newspaper claimed that Pakistan had quietly offered the United States access to a port at Pasni - a small, windswept stretch of Balochistan's coast better known for its fishing boats than for great-power manoeuvres. Within hours, the claim was bouncing across timelines and talking heads were announcing a "strategic shift." The trouble is, no such offer was ever made.

There is no Pasni proposal before the government. None has been discussed at any official level, no paper drafted, no meeting held. There has been no conversation with the White House, and no hint of a port plan in Pakistan's policy circles. What exists, if anything, are private, explor...