French submarines graft case resurfaces

THREE allies of French President Nicolas Sarkozy including former French Minister Donnedieu de Vabres have become the focus of an expanding investigation into the 17-year-old case involving suspected corruption in the sale of submarines to Pakistan. The case, centres on kickbacks that investigators suspect were paid to secure the sale of three Agosta submarines to Pakistan in 1994

Earlier a French Judge, investigating corruption charges confirmed that illegal commissions were paid for the sale of submarines to Pakistan in 1995. The deal had led to the removal of the then Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Mansurul Haq and framing of corruption references against several other people but it is still pending and according to a former Director General Naval Intelligence those who made millions of dollars from the deal were never held accountable. The submarine graft case has now resurfaced with the arrest of Mr Donnedieu de Vabres for questioning and it would naturally have fall out in Pakistan. The ongoing investigation in Paris into the May 8, 2002, terrorist attack that killed 11 DCN employees in Karachi may also shed new light on the submarine purchase.

 

As a result the country, which is already in a political crisis, would be witnessing more allegations and counter allegations of all sorts. Many cases of corrupt practices were registered in the past by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and they gained much publicity in the media. However with the passage of time most of those cases including the Agosta submarine deal have been put in the cold storage. It is a common practice in Pakistan that people having proper connections escape from trial and punishment leading to huge losses to the national exchequer. 

 

Even today graft cases of billions of rupees are under lengthy process or pending in NAB and the Accountability Courts. The Agosta deal and other high profile corruption cases are bringing a bad name to the country and there is dire need that these must be taken to the logical conclusion. We believe that the NAB chairman, who has the reputation of an above the board personality would look into all the pending cases of corruption and take them to the logical conclusion at the earliest.