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| India-Pakistan |
| France closes school and cultural centre in Islamabad |
| 2008-06-25 |
| France decided to close down its French school and renowned cultural centre for an indefinite period due to security reasons, diplomatic sources told Daily Times on Tuesday. “The decision was taken by the French embassy a fortnight ago and both the school and the cultural centre were asked to quietly pull down shutters,” the sources said. French Ministry: Sources said the embassy was asked by the French Foreign Ministry to close both the facilities due to the worsening law and order. The French also feared attacks on their installations as it prepares to send 700 additional troops in Afghanistan to join the NATO/ISAF forces battling insurgency in Afghanistan. The school located in the high security Diplomatic Enclave was scheduled to close for summer break on June 21, but the embassy decided an earlier closure after the attack on the Danish embassy. The Alliance Francaise cultural centre, situated in F-7/2 sector “has been closed down as it is very close to the Belgian embassy and a UN agency”, the sources said. “Experts informed the board of governors in a meeting that in case of an attack on the Danish embassy or the UN building, the building of the centre would also be destroyed,” sources said. The board of governors of the centre met on Tuesday evening and decided to continue French language classes in a school in F-8. They also discussed the possibility of relocating the centre to the Diplomatic Enclave to provide better security. French embassy spokesman Adrien Arbouche was not available for his comments on the closure of the school and the cultural centre. Earlier both the school and the centre were closed down for one year in 2002 when terrorist attacked the Convent school in Murree. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |