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2009-06-22 India-Pakistan
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Dirty deals?
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The possibility that the 2002 killing of 11 French engineers, who died alongside three Pakistanis when a car packed with explosives was rammed into their minibus in Karachi, may have been carried out to avenge a failure by Paris to pay commissions to Pakistan on a deal involving submarine sales is shocking.
| "Commissions". So that's what they call it nowadays. |
| See what happens when the man doesn't get his ten percent? |
The act of terrorism, close to a five-star hotel, had till now been blamed on extremist militants. | Had it been near a two-star hotel, that would've been different, of course. |
An ATC court in 2003 had indeed found two men linked to a 'jihadi' group responsible, although they have since been acquitted by the Sindh High Court due to a lack of proof.
| The attack was carried out to punish the French for stopping commission payments. These ended in 1995, after French President Jacques Chirac assumed office. The recipient of the payments on the Pakistan end of the line is stated to have been a certain Asif Ali Zardari, at the time a minister in his wife's second government. Rogue elements in the intelligence agencies are thought to have been involved in the attack, deliberately disguising it to look like the doing of militants. |
French investigators and the relatives of the victims seem confident about the dirty deals theory. They claim to have compiled some evidence that suggests that the attack was carried out to punish the French for stopping commission payments. These ended in 1995, after French President Jacques Chirac assumed office.
| It took eight years to devise a sufficiently severe punishment? Perhaps if they super-cooled their brains, they'd be able to think faster. |
The recipient of the payments on the Pakistan end of the line is stated to have been a certain Asif Ali Zardari, at the time a minister in his wife's second government. Rogue elements in the intelligence agencies are thought to have been involved in the attack, deliberately disguising it to look like the doing of militants.
The entire story in many ways seems ludicrous, especially as the killing took place seven years after the money stopped flowing in.
| So I'm not the only one who noticed. |
That it happened at a time when Zardari had no place in power and the ruling setup was led by General Pervez Musharraf also raises questions as to its authenticity. But the fact is that most of us will, somewhere in our minds, harbour the suspicion that the French may have stumbled across the terrible truth. Corruption in defence deals is well-established. It takes place in many parts of the world. The Bofors scandal of the 1980s, allegedly involving massive kickbacks to Indian politicians who included former prime minister the late Rajiv Gandhi, shook that nation. Though Gandhi was cleared by a court, echoes from the case can still be heard. Accusations of massive corruption have been heard still more frequently in Pakistan, and the submarine affair acts as a reminder that the president of Pakistan, in a previous incarnation, was known as 'Mr Ten Percent'.
The French probe is of course still to be proven before courts. At the moment it consists of little more than allegations. But the spectres it raises are terrifying. If indeed agency elements have been engaged in mimicking extremists, new dilemmas open up about other murders and other attacks. These are an indication of the dangers we live with and the fact that through our country, many currents flow. A number of them are still unchartered. We must hope the latest case with its startling disclosures can shed light on some of these. At the same time, Pakistan must do all it can to demonstrate the French case is based only in the imagination of lawyers. The damage from it has already been done. It needs to be seen if some of it can be deflected and the name of those named in it cleared.
| Byzantium had nothing on Pakistan. I think my brain would break if I lived there. |
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Posted by john frum 2009-06-22 00:00||
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Posted by Black Bart Ebberens7700 2009-06-22 17:53||
2009-06-22 17:53||
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