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Iftikhar Ali
UITED NATIONS, Oct 15 (APP):Pakistan has urged the United Nations Security Council to fully support the political roadmap proposed by UN’s top envoy for Libya which aims to guide the divided country toward national elections and unifying its state institutions.
“These steps are critical to laying the foundations of durable peace, stability, and prosperity for the Libyan people,” Ambassador Usman Jadoon, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the 15-member Council on Tuesday.
Nearly 15 years after the fall of former President Muammar Gaddafi, Libya remains split between two rival administrations: the internationally recognized Government of National Unity, located in the western capital of Tripoli, and the rival Government of National Stability based in Benghazi in the east.
Ambassador Jadoon said Pakistan remains steadfast in supporting “brotherly” Libya’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and national unity.
The roadmap, outlined by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Hanna Tetteh, on 21 August 2025, proposed ending the transitional period, progressing the agreement of unified institutions, taking the country to free, fair, transparent, and inclusive presidential and legislative elections in line with Security Council resolution 2755 (2024), within an overall timeframe of 18 months, and, in parallel, convening a structured dialogue with Libyan institutional stakeholders and the people of Libya.
In his remarks, the Pakistani envoy stressed the need for establishing clear benchmarks and timelines to measure results and ensure that ongoing efforts translate into tangible outcomes.
“Sustained engagement with all political stakeholders and the wider public will also be vital for building consensus and broad-based ownership of the roadmap.”
In this regard, he reiterated that a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process remains the only viable pathway to lasting peace.
Ambassador Jadoon commended the High National Elections Commission for holding the recent elections in 34 Libyan municipalities, saying he looked forward to the early elections in the remaining municipalities where polling could not be held due to security and other constraints.
On the security track, he looked forward to efforts by all Libyan stakeholders, supported by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), to sustain a fragile truce in Tripoli.
“We encourage further confidence-building through inclusive dialogue and commend the role of the Truce Committee and the Security and Military Arrangement Committee for their efforts to secure lasting peace, in and around Tripoli.”
The Pakistani envoy also called for an early agreement on a unified national budget.
“Equally important”, said Ambassador Jadoon, “is safeguarding Libya’s frozen assets and ensuring their reinvestment for the benefit of the Libyan people in line with Security Council resolution 2769 (2025).”
Noting the Libyan Investment Authority’s challenges in engaging with financial institutions holding such assets — and such institutions’ seeming lack of clarity regarding the application of relevant provisions of that resolution — he suggested the issuance of an “implementation assistance notice” to “clarify operational modalities and address existing interpretational gaps”.
At the outset, Ms. Tetteh, the SRSG for Libya, warned that the country’s long-delayed political transition will stay on hold unless rival institutions swiftly resolve differences over election laws and key appointments.
She said that while some progress has been made toward implementing a UN-backed political roadmap, divisions between the House of Representatives and the High Council of State continue to block key steps needed ahead of long-awaited national elections.
“The two institutions have yet to achieve this objective,” Ms. Tetteh told ambassadors in the Security Council.
“They have not yet discussed jointly the constitutional and legal framework for elections. Achieving political consensus on these matters will be challenging … [but] Libya cannot afford continued delays or disruptions.”
The roadmap’s first milestone – reconstituting the full Board of Commissioners of the High National Elections Commission – remains incomplete.
Disagreements persist over whether to replace all seven members or fill only the vacant posts – a debate that Ms. Tetteh said reflects “a broader lack of political will.”
She urged Libyan leaders to “engage constructively” to complete the initial milestones, adding that if no agreement is reached, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) will “pursue another approach” and seek the Council’s backing to ensure the roadmap advances.