Pakistan plans Benghazi consulate, lending legitimacy to Libya's authorities

Pakistan is in talks to open a consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, three sources with knowledge of the matter said, as the leader of the Libyan National Army met Pakistan's prime minister in Islamabad.



Islamabad would join a small group of countries with a diplomatic presence in Benghazi, in a move that could boost eastern authorities in their rivalry with Libya's west.



Libya descended into turmoil after a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi and has ‍been divided into eastern and western authorities since a 2014 civil war. The U.N.-recognised government in Tripoli controls the west, while LNA leader Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's forces based in

Benghazi hold the east and south, including major oilfields.



Haftar discussed the consulate with officials during an ongoing visit to Pakistan, the sources said.



He met Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in Rawalpindi on Monday to discuss "professional cooperation", the Pakistani military said.