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 Pakistan |  Libya |
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TheLibya–Pakistan relations are theinternational andbilateral relations betweenLibya andPakistan. The relations remain friendly and bonded throughout its history as both countries share similar religious identities, and cultural links, particularly theirIslamic heritage.The bilateral relations were established in the 1950s whenKing Idris agreed to provide financial aid to the then-impoverished Pakistan.[1]
After staging acoup d'état against KingIdris of Libya in 1969,Muammar Gaddafi grew his relations with theMarxist circle of Pakistan.[1] During the height of thewar withIndia in 1971,Libyan leader Gaddafi personally directed a strongly worded letter toIndian Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi accusing her of aggression against Pakistan in 1971, which endeared him to all Pakistanis.[1]
The foreign relations of Libya and Pakistan began to grow in the 1970s when the Pakistani populace began to notice Gaddafi who paid his firststate visit to Pakistan to attend theOrganisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) held inLahore, in 1974.[2] In a televised speech given by Gaddafi at the meeting of theOrganisation of the Islamic Conference, he declared his support for Pakistan to pursue the development ofnuclear technology, an issue which had been made a hot-topic by theUnited States.[3] When he came to Pakistan to attend the second Islamic Summit Conference in 1974, he stated, "Pakistan is the fort of Islam."[4]
On Pakistan'sLeft-wing sphere specifically thePakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Gaddafi was respectable and a popular figure who had many inter-personal relations with Pakistan's Marxist circle.[4] According to the American political correspondent, theTime, Gaddafi was one of many financial supporter of Pakistan's clandestineatomic deterrence projects.[4] In his honour, thePrime MinisterZulfikar Ali Bhutto had named theGaddafi cricket stadium inLahore, the largest in the country, after him.[4] At many instance of Gaddafi, Bhutto decided to delegate Libya in its efforts to build itsnuclear program, roughly based on Pakistan's motivation.[4]
Thegeneral elections held in 1977 saw the overwhelming victory ofLeft-wing sphere. At an instance of rightist alliance,PNA, a violentcivil disobedience movement led the successful imposition ofmartial law, under codename:Operation Fair Play, at midnight on 4 July 1977. Thismartial law led byChief of Army Staff GeneralMuhammad Zia-ul-Haq immediately removed theMarxist influence in the government. Periodically, all ties built with the Gaddafi was limited in 1977; eventually cutting off all ties and military assistance with Libya in 1978.[5]
Before the atomic quest was completed, the Libyan delegation to participate in nuclear projects was sent back to Libya in 1978 and allmilitary advisers ofPakistan Armed Forces were immediately called back to Pakistan in 1979.[5] Such initiatives revealed thatPresident GeneralZia had strongly hated and distrusted Gaddafi, therefore he immediately cut all the military aid to Libya.[5] Gaddafi sent many appeals ofclemency to spareZulfikar Ali Bhutto's life and sent his personal plane with dispatching his Prime Minister,Abdessalam Jalloud, to fly Bhutto out from Pakistan.[6] In spite of Gaddafi's initiatives, theair transport was sent back toTripoli and after a week, Zulfikar Bhutto was hanged per the orders of theSupreme Court.[6]
After learning the incident, Gaddafi lashed out at President Zia and began hosting as well as providing military training tofar-left terrorist organization, theAl-Zulfiqar, which was established by Bhutto's children.[6] However, the plan was thwarted by theISI in 1980 when it had discovered and placed a mole in the Libyan embassy.[6] In retaliation, Gaddafi signed a secret decree which called for the expulsion of all the 150,000 Pakistanis residing in Libya.[2] Thechildren andwife ofBhutto were given asylum by Gaddafi in the 1980s, despite the agitation of PresidentZia.[1]
During this time, Libya suspected attempted[clarification needed] to make a deal to share knowledge of nuclear projects with senior scientists working inatomic deterrence projects; all efforts were thwarted by ISI.[6] In 1983–85, Libya restored its ties with India and acceded with a nuclear treaty with India as opposed to Pakistan.[7]
AfterPresidentZia'sdeath and state funeral, the foreign relations began to normalized.[8] Thegeneral elections held in 1988 resulted inleft-wing coming topower and appointingBenazir Bhutto as Pakistan's first femalePrime minister.[8] The ties continued until Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was removed from power after amid corruption charges byPresidentGhulam Ishaq, in 1990.[8]
In 1990, the newgeneral elections oversaw theconservatives coming topower underNavaz Sharif, for the first time in thehistory through a democratic transition. Immediately after being sworn in as thePrime Minister,Nawaz Sharif soon paid astate visit to Libya.[8] In 1991, Sharif visit and met with Gaddafi.[8] During the meeting, Gaddafi demanded Sharif to sell him a nuclear bomb as Gaddafi suspected that Pakistan had developed years later.[8] Whilst, Prime Minister Sharif reputedly denying his request and urging Gaddafi to continue the economical relations with Pakistan.[8] Gaddafi insulted the Sharif and labeled him as a "corrupt politician", which dismayed the Pakistan delegation.[8] The Prime minister's delegation members and journalists were initially shocked and troubled with Gaddafi's attitude.[8] Therefore, Sharif cancelled the talks and immediately returning to Pakistan and soon expelled Libyan Ambassador.[8] The ties were again restored in 1993 following the resignation of conservativePrime MinisterNawaz Sharif andPresidentGhulam Ishaq. The newgeneral elections in 1993 revived the comeback ofPPP underBenazir Bhutto who was immediately sworn in asPrime Minister.
In 1994–95, there were reports indicated that the nuclear information was given to Gaddafi to provide aid in Libyannuclear program. In 2001, Pakistan via ISI, passed intelligence aboutGulf States and the nuclear ambitions of Iran and Libya, whose programs Pakistani scientists had helped to build.[9] Pakistan began providing details ofLibyan nuclear programme to Israel'sMossad.[9] These evidence were made public by the United States but concealed the names of sources.[9]
This is my second visit to Libya. I came once before with my (martyr) wifeBenazir Bhutto andour family ties withGaddafi family are strong...
— PresidentAsif Ali Zardari's state visit to Libya, 2009[2]
In 2003, Gaddafi announced his intention torolling back thenuclear program and ultimately handed over the information given by the various sources toIAEA.[2] This turned out to be a "political nightmare" for Pakistan when Gaddafi turned over the centrifuge designs to the IAEA in return for legitimacy causing Pakistan international isolation.[2]PresidentPervez Musharraf andPrime MinisterShaukat Aziz's foreign expertise later helped Pakistan out of international isolation in 2004 due to the quick economic boom.[2]
ThePPP made its notable comeback during thegeneral elections held in 2008. ThePPP restarted its relations with Gaddafi, which paved way forPresidentAsif Ali Zardari'sstate visit to Libya in 2009. During his visit, PresidentZardari termed Libya as his "second home".
After the start of thecivil war in Libya, Pakistan immediately adopted the policy of "non-belligerent" in 2011. In February 2011, following theprotests in otherArab countries, widespread riots broke out against Gaddafi's 42-year rule resulting in loss of government control over most of eastern Libya.[10]
In a press conference on 3 March 2011, theForeign ministry of Pakistan spokesperson stated: "As far as the internal political situation of Libya is concerned, the Government of Pakistan would not like to offer any comment at this point in time". She stated that the current focus of the Pakistani government is on the safe repatriation ofPakistanis in Libya.[11]
Defending his crackdown against the revolt during a lengthy speech, Gaddafi passed controversial remarks about thecurrent situation of Pakistan.[10] He also compared his crackdown to India'scounterinsurgency inIndian-held Kashmir.[10]Pakistan's Media did not welcome Gaddafi's speech, and Pakistan's Television channels heavily criticized Gaddafi's remarks, and accused Gaddafi of interfering in Pakistan's matters.[10] During the civil war in Libya, thePakistan Government initiated a cross-border operations, involving theNavy and thePAF to assure the safety of and safe evacuation of Pakistani community in Libya.[12] During the same time, the Arab media circulated news reports alleging involvement ofPakistan military in the events of civil war in Libya, theForeign Office emphatically stated that these were mischievous and totally baseless.[13] There are no presence of any Pakistan military contingent forces in Libya.[13]
During theAbu Salim Prison massacre remembrance, thePakistan Embassy in Tripoli wasattacked and bombed by the unknown Libyanterror group. No group claimed the responsibility of the act.[14]
Pakistan received economic assistance from Libya in the 1970s, aiding in the country's recovery after theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971. More recently, Libya has provided assistance to Pakistan to fight against floods, infections, disease, and other natural calamities in Pakistan.
In 1976, TheLibyan Central Bank provided a loan of US$50 million to theHabib Bank of Pakistan as a form of aid.[3] In the same year, an economic and cultural agreement was also signed, in which a combined shipping company was established.
There are around30,000 Pakistanis who are residents of Libya. In 2009, the Pakistani government pledged to send 50,000 skilled workers to Libya by the end of the year under aMemorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries during a visit of thePresident of Pakistan toLibya.[15]
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