ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday welcomed signs of progress toward long-delayed elections in Libya and called for the reunification of the country’s divided state institutions, saying reconciliation between rival factions was key to lasting peace and stability.
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, made the remarks at a UN Security Council briefing on Libya, as the world body seeks to break a political deadlock that has left the North African country divided between rival power centers in the east and west and prevented national elections.
“Pakistan expresses its steadfast support for Libya’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity,” Ahmad said.
“It is our firm belief that an inclusive, Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process is the way forward for the country.”
Libya has struggled to achieve political stability since a political uprising toppled longtime ruler Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. The country effectively split after renewed conflict in 2014, with rival administrations and armed groups establishing competing centers of power in the east and west.
A ceasefire in 2020 ended most large-scale fighting and paved the way for the formation the following year of an interim Government of National Unity in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, which was meant to take the country to national elections in December 2021.
But the vote was postponed amid disputes over electoral laws and the eligibility of candidates. The eastern-based House of Representatives subsequently backed a rival administration, while Dbeibah remained in power in Tripoli, leaving Libya once again with competing authorities. The east and much of the south are dominated by forces commanded by Khalifa Haftar.
The United Nations last year proposed a new roadmap aimed at breaking the impasse through an agreed electoral framework, the reunification of institutions under a new government and broader dialogue among Libyans, ultimately leading to presidential and parliamentary elections.
Ahmad welcomed a recent agreement on a mechanism for appointing the head of Libya’s High National Elections Commission and said Pakistan hoped outstanding issues blocking the initial stages of the UN roadmap would be resolved soon.
The agreement represents movement after months of deadlock over the commission and electoral rules, two issues the UN says must be resolved before Libya can move toward credible national elections.
Ahmad said progress toward political reconciliation needed to be accompanied by efforts to reunify Libya’s divided security and state institutions.
“We encourage sustained dialogue and confidence building to make progress toward unified military and security institutions,” he said.
He also welcomed steps toward greater fiscal coordination through a unified spending framework for 2026, saying its implementation could promote economic stability, transparency and the equitable management of national resources.
Pakistan has expanded its engagement with Libya over the past year, including contacts with Haftar’s eastern-based leadership and cooperation in defense and military training. Islamabad has also maintained contacts with the western authorities and, according to Reuters, has been involved in efforts to encourage reconciliation between the rival camps.
Ahmad said Pakistan believed progress on the political, security, economic and judicial tracks could contribute to the broader goal of national reconciliation and a unified government.
“Pakistan will continue to extend its full support to this objective,” he added.
