Pakistan is seeking to help broker a US-backed effort to unify Libya's rival eastern and western administrations, political and diplomatic sources told The National, as Washington steps up attempts to break years of political deadlock in the North African country.
A Benghazi-based politician said Islamabad believes its strong ties with eastern Libya and backing from Saudi Arabia could help advance the initiative led by Massad Boulos, US senior adviser for Arab and African affairs. But the source said neither side in Libya genuinely believes in power-sharing, making any agreement difficult to reach.
Washington is intensifying efforts to advance a long-discussed framework to unify Libya's competing camps, the latest attempt to end political fragmentation and rebuild state institutions after the 2011 uprising that toppled long-time ruler Muammar Qaddafi.
Libya descended into civil war after Qaddafi's downfall. Military commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar gradually consolidated control over much of the country's east, while the Tripoli-based UN-recognised Government of National Unity, led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, remains the dominant authority in the west.
“They [the Pakistanis] came and visited because they have good relations with the east [of Libya] and have been backed by Saudi Arabia,” the political source told The National, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. “They think they might be able to help broker Massad Boulos’s initiative.”
An African diplomat with knowledge of the discussions said Pakistan had entered the mediation process between the two Libyan sides “with American knowledge” and “Saudi backing”.
Responding to a request for comment, a US State Department official did not mention Pakistan’s involvement but said the US initiative is being carried out in “close co-ordination with our partners, and critically, is complementary to the roadmap of” the UN Support Mission in Libya.
“The United States has noted publicly the important role that international partners are playing in Libya, including Turkey, Egypt, Italy, France, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar and others,” said the official, who added that those efforts have seen “significant and gradual progress since July 2025”.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to The National's requests for comment. Reuters first reported Pakistan's mediation role earlier this week.
Islamabad maintains close ties with Riyadh. Last year, they signed a sweeping defence pact, marking a significant deepening of military co-operation between the long-time partners.
If successful, the Libya effort would expand Pakistan's diplomatic profile. Islamabad has increasingly sought to position itself as a regional mediator, including by facilitating indirect talks between Iran and the US and supporting negotiations that led to the signing of an interim agreement between the two countries aimed at ending a months-long Middle East war.
Mr Boulos has spearheaded recent diplomatic engagement with Libyan figures across the political spectrum. He visited Benghazi this week, where he met Field Marshal Haftar.
“We discussed ongoing US-Libya security co-operation, joint efforts to strengthen border security and address shared threats and the importance of sustaining momentum towards the unification of Libya’s state institutions,” Mr Boulos wrote in a post on X. “We also underscored the need to advance a Libyan-led political process that supports lasting peace.”
Late last month, Lt Gen Saddam Haftar, the deputy commander of the eastern-based Libyan National Army and son of Field Marshal Haftar, met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington.
Scepticism persists
Despite the diplomatic push, uncertainty surrounds whether Libya's political divide can be bridged or whether the proposal will join a long list of failed peace initiatives.
The Libyan political source expressed little confidence that the latest attempt to unify the governments would succeed, highlighting years of entrenched mistrust between the country's competing power centres.
“For me, I don't see any hope in that. They're just trying to push for it. Massad [Boulos] is very eager for it,” said the source. The main obstacle is not a lack of dialogue but a lack of political will, they added.
“The problem is they don't believe in partnership. They don't believe in consensus or sharing power,” the source said, referring to Mr Dbeibah in the west and Field Marshal Haftar in the east.
“So there's no way both families distribute power among them. It's not going to happen, however long they meet or however many times they meet. They have a lack of trust in each other.
“In the west, there are many actors – it's not just the Dbeibah family making decisions. And even in the east, power and authority are shared among Haftar's sons – and that doesn't lead to any stability.”
Under the US proposal, Washington has explored a power-sharing formula that would keep Mr Dbeibah in office while elevating Lt Gen Haftar to a senior national executive role, possibly leading a unified presidential structure.
