The death of Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi in a final assault by the government forces in his hometown in Sirte on Thursday relieved the new interim regime of nervous strain and was greeted with joy with the people celebrating the end of tyranny and dictatorship.
Trying to break out of his final redoubt at dawn in a convoy of vehicles after weeks of dogged resistance, Qaddafi was stopped by a French air strike, followed by a US drone strike and was killed along with his son Mutassim and former Defence Minister Abu Bakr Yunis Jabar. The man who has been instrumental in maintaining an atmosphere of fear and repression in the country he had ruled for more than 4o years met a terrible end. His body was paraded through the streets of Misrata on top of a vehicle surrounded by a large crowd.
The Libyan leader, who was once known for championing the cause of the Third World, had gained tremendous goodwill in Pakistan. He was given a hero’s welcome when he arrived here to attend the Islamic Summit Conference convened by the late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Lahore in 1974 and a sports stadium was named after him later.
But the fact that he had not been consistent in his policies resulted in his isolation from the Arab League. Lately, when he tried to appease the United States and Britain and renounced weapons of mass destructions, he suddenly found himself being abandoned by the West, right at the time when the two sides appeared to be in each other’s embrace.
The world leaders congratulated the people of Libya on their liberation from the dictatorial and violent regime imposed on them for more than four decades. Declaring it a momentous day for Libya, President Obama said Qaddafi’s demise vindicated the collective military operation launched by the West in the embattled country earlier this year.
The transatlantic alliance has begun winding down its mission but it is difficult to predict how long it will take Libya to turn into democracy. If the past experiences are any guide, the American invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan had not resulted in bringing stability to the two sovereign states. It is therefore important to leave it to Libyans to decide their future.
