Pakistan army chief, Libya's Haftar pledge stronger military ties

Pakistani army chief General Asim Munir met with Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi on Wednesday to discuss enhancing relations and defence cooperation, Pakistan's military said in a statement on Thursday.

Munir met with the military commander, who heads a military force in Libya's east that rivals the Tripoli-based government, and his deputy and son, Saddam Khalifa Haftar, the army's media wing said.

"On arrival, the field marshal was accorded a guard of honour by a smartly turned-out contingent of the Libyan Armed Forces," the army's Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement, referring to Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).

"Both sides underscored the importance of collaboration in training, capacity building and counterterrorism domains," the statement continued.

It added that the Pakistani military chief emphasised his country's "commitment to strengthening defense ties with Libya, based on shared interests".

Pakistan, a nuclear-armed Muslim-majority state, has had decades-long ties with Libya, though these reltions have been complicated by the country's split into two rival administrations.

The country is divided between a UN-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east controlled by Haftar's faction.