Tag: Libya

ISLAMABAD - President Zardari and PM Gilani have ordered Foreign Affairs Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir to ensure the safety of Pakistani expatriates in Libya, Foreign Office Spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua said in a statement on Sunday.
"In implementation of this directive, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has set up a Special Task Force that is working round-the-clock to monitor the situation and provide assistance through our embassies in Tripoli and

GENEVA - The UN refugee agency said Sunday that about 100,000 foreign migrants, mainly Egyptians and Tunisians, have fled Libya to neighbouring countries during the past week of turmoil.
"UNHCR emergency teams are working with Tunisian and Egyptian authorities and NGOs (non governmental organisations) to support the migrants," officer of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement. The Red Crescent said the migrants entered at the Ras Jedir post on Saturday.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Saturday refuted as baseless the media reports suggesting the involvement of its army in the current developments in Libya. In response to a question about reports circulated in the Arab media alleging involvement of Pakistan's military in the current developments in Libya, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tehmina Janjua emphatically stated that these were mischievous and totally baseless claims. "There are no military personnel stationed in Libya," she added.

BERLIN - The leaders of Germany and Britain agreed on Saturday on the need for "severe" international sanctions to be imposed as quickly as possible on the Libyan regime, Berlin said. In a telephone conversation, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron agreed on the need for urgent United Nations sanctions, the German government's deputy spokesman, Christoph Steegmans, said in a statement.
The two leaders believe "the United Nations Security

ROME - Italy has sold Libya explosives, gun targeting equipment and other military hardware worth tens of millions of euros (dollars) in the past two years, Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported on Saturday.
The newspaper quoted an official report from the Italian interior ministry that listed signed contracts as well as ongoing negotiations between Libya and several major Italian defence companies including industry giant Finmeccanica. Missile systems maker Mbda Italia

GENEVA - The UN rights chief decried Moamer Gaddafi regime's "callous disregard" for Libyans during a special Human Rights Council session on the crisis on Friday, amid calls for an international probe into the violence. Western nations also led a call for the country to be excluded from the council, but Cuba opposed the move while China and Russia expressed reservations.
Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned the 47 member council that thousands may have been

BENGHAZI - Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi launched a fierce counterattack on Thursday on rebels holding towns near the capital and the US did not rule out military action in response to the Libyan crackdown. The opposition were already in control of major centres in the east, including the regional capital Benghazi, and reports that the towns of Misrata and Zuara in the west had also fallen brought the tide of rebellion closer to Gaddafi's power base.
Gunbattles in Zawiyah, an

PARIS - Violence during anti-regime protests in Libya could constitute crimes against humanity which might need to be brought before international judges, the French foreign ministry said on Thursday. France also called for a UN-mandated mission of Inquiry to be sent to Libya to assess such eventual crimes.
A UN rights council resolution is being discussed "strongly condemning the massive and unacceptable violence currently carried out" in Libya, a ministry statement said, with

ISTANBUL - Governments around the world scrambled on Wednesday to send planes and ships to evacuate their citizens from turmoil in Libya, whose leader Muammar Gaddafi has vowed to crush a revolt against his 41-year rule. Fears for the safety of foreigners were heightened after a Turkish worker was shot dead as he climbed a crane at a building site near the capital Tripoli, according to Turkish officials.
Turkey, with 25,000 citizens in Libya, is mounting the biggest evacuation

BRUSSELS - European Union governments will meet on Wednesday to discuss imposing sanctions against Muammar Gaddafi's government, while evacuating thousands of their citizens from Libya, EU officials said. France and Germany have pushed for the 27-member EU to move quickly on measures against Libya, following a crackdown on protests against Gaddafi's 41-year rule that has killed, by some estimates, as many as 1,000 people.
The leader of Ireland's main opposition Fine Gael party

BRUSSELS - European governments readied to evacuate thousands of citizens from Libya Monday as oil-rich Tripoli warned of a "fight to the last bullet", but cracks remained on how to handle Moamer Qaddafi. As British Prime Minister David Cameron made a surprise visit to Egypt, whose veteran leader Hosni Mubarak was toppled in the second Arab uprising after Tunisia, a deadly crackdown in Libya only emboldened protesters who stormed the state broadcaster and torched police stations in

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Ambassador in Libya Ali Javed Sunday said all the Pakistanis living in the country were safe and attending their offices but the children were not going to schools because of security reasons.
Talking to a private TV channel from Tripoli, he said the Pakistanis were not taking part in any protest and they had nothing to do with the latest developments. He said the situation in Benghazi was critical where most of the Pakistanis were living and working,

CAIRO/SANAA - Unrest swept across the Middle East on Saturday with reports from Libya saying more than 80 people had been killed in a bloody crackdown, as an anti-government protester was killed in clashes in the Yemeni capital. On the fifth day of an unprecedented challenge to his four-decade regime, Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi had still made no public comment, although he reportedly appeared at a mass rally of supporters in the capital on Thursday.
After regime opponents used