Pakistan seals major arms export deal with Libya

Pakistan has signed a deal with Libya to export conventional military equipment to it worth multi-billion-dollars. It is supposed to be one of the largest arms exports in the history of Pakistan.

The deal was sealed after the meeting last week in Benghazi between the CDF Field Marshal Asim Munir and the deputy commander in chief of Libya Saddam Khalifa Haftar. The deal has been valued at more than $4 billion.

However, the foreign and defence ministries of Pakistan have not yet commented on the deal made with Libya.  Meanwhile, the military officials call the deal “historic in terms of size and financial impact”.

According to official documents, Libya will be purchasing JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, developed by Pakistan and China, as well as Super Mushak aircraft used for basic pilot training. The purchases will cover land, sea and air systems and the deliveries will be made in a total time frame of two and a half years.

Since 2011, Libya has been under a UN arms restriction, but officials from the Pakistan military stated that the embargo has not affected the supply of arms to Libya from several Western and regional states despite the restrictions. 

The Government of National Unity which controls western Libya is led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, while Haftar’s LNA controls the east and south, including major oilfields, dividing Libya between the two. This divide is likely to cause scrutiny on the arms agreement made with LNA.

The official media of LNA highlighted the agreement made with Pakistan for weapons sales, joint training and military manufacturing. While, Pakistan, has been emphasizing on its domestic military-industrial base as key in promoting defence exports.