KARACHI: Pakistan has signed a multi-billion dollar deal to sell conventional military equipment to the Libyan army, entering a select club of countries that export conventional arms and 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).

It was finalised after a meeting last week between Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir and Saddam Khalifa Haftar, deputy commander-in-chief of the LNA, in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, officials said.

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”.

JF-17s, Super Mushak aircraft on LNA’s ‘shopping list’, said to be valued over $4bn

A copy of the deal before it was finalised that was seen by Reuters listed the purchase of several JF-17 fighter jets, jointly developed by Pakistan and China, and a number of Super Mushak trainer aircraft, used for basic pilot training.

A Pakistani official told Reuters the deal included the sale of equipment for land, sea and air, spread over 2-1/2 years, adding it could also include the JF-17 fighter jets.

Since 2011, the United Nations has imposed an arms embargo on the fractured North African country, which means transfers of weapons and related material require UN approval.

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”.

The internationally-recognised Government of National Unity, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, controls much of western Libya, while Haftar’s LNA controls the east and south, including major oilfields, and does not recognise the Unity government’s authority.

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.

The LNA’s official media channel reported on Sunday that the faction had entered a defence cooperation pact with Pakistan, which included weapons sales, joint training and military manufacturing, without providing details.

“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.

Authorities in Benghazi also did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Pakistan has been seeking to expand defence exports, drawing on decades of counterinsurgency experience and a domestic defence industry that spans aircraft production and overhaul, armoured vehicles, munitions and naval construction.

“Our recent war with India demonstrated our advanced capabilities to the world,” CDF Munir was quoted as saying in remarks broadcast by Al-Hadath on Sunday.

Baqir Sajjad Syed also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2025