Pakistan has signed a multi dollar deal to sell the military equipment to the Libyan army. It entered a club of countries that offer conventional arms and military equipment.
Pakistan has clinched a multi dollar deal to sell the military equipment to the Libyan army. It entered a club of countries that offer conventional arms and military equipment.
According to the Reuters news agency, the over $4 billion deal, one of Pakistan’s largest-ever weapons sales, will see arms sold to the Libyan National Army (LNA).
The deal came into force after a meeting scheduled last week between the Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir and deputy commander-in-chief of the LNA, Saddam Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi as reported by the Dawn.
Although foreign ministry, defence ministry and military did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment, military officials called it “historic in terms of size and financial impact”.
A Pakistani official told Reuters that the deal spanned over land, sea, and water including the JF-17 fighter jets.
However, senior Pakistani military officials justified the arms sale, saying that many major western and Middle Eastern states have been supplying weapons and equipment to Libya for many years despite the embargo.
Calling it a “paper embargo” which is virtually “non-existent due to multiple reasons”, the sources said the move was in line with the prime minister and army chief’s vision for “an export driven self sustained economy”.
According to Reuters, any arms agreement with the LNA is likely to face scrutiny given Libya’s long-running instability following a 2011 Nato-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi and split the country between rival authorities.
“We announce the launch of a new phase of strategic military cooperation with Pakistan,” Haftar said in remarks broadcast on Sunday by Al-Hadath television.
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