May 10, 2002	Friday	Safar 26, 1423

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KARACHI, May 9: France will continue to assist in the construction of Agosta submarines and honour all its agreements with Pakistan.

This assurance was held out by French Defence Minister Michelli Alliot-Marie at a news conference which she addressed at the conclusion of her brief visit here on Thursday.

When she was asked about French assistance in the construction of submarines, she said: “We will continue to honour the contract signed in 1994, to build the submarines.”

However, she expected Islamabad to ensure physical security of French nationals working here on various projects.

The French minister came here at the request of President Chirac to express solidarity with the injured Frenchmen who she visited in the hospitals.

“It is certain that if the terrorists had meant to affect Franco-Pakistan relations, they have failed, they have lost. Our bilateral relations will not be affected and we will come closer,” the French minister assured while reiterating her country’s resolve to fight international terrorism with even greater vigour.

Asked if France suspected the incident to be the handiwork of Al Qaeda, the defence minister said: “It is too early to comment on the subject as the investigations have not yet completed.”

Michelli Alliot-Marie was of the view that the Wednesday’s terrorist action was part of the larger terrorist movement against which we all were fighting.

She also referred to the Sept 11 incident, and paid tribute to Gen Pervez Musharraf for making the “courageous choice of bringing Pakistan into the coalition against terrorism and in particular against Al Qaeda and its possible followers on the territory”.

Referring to Wednesday’s incident, she said that the horrible act reinforced the determination of France to take large part in the fight against international terrorist organisations.

“We have to fight terrorism till its elimination and in particular the wide-scale terrorism,” she said.

Speaking at the French consulate amid tight security, the French defence minister, who arrived here on Thursday morning, said Pakistan and France had agreed to conduct joint investigations and some of the French experts had already arrived here and the rest would follow.

“We have full confidence in the actions of the Pakistani government and the administration in the matter of inquiry. I have the concurrence of Pakistani authorities for the French authorities to participate in the inquest,” the French defence minister said.

When asked why the Frenchmen were targeted, Ms Alliot-Marie said that it was too early to comment. “May be it was owing to French role in the fight against terrorism,” she nevertheless said.

She stated that she visited the injured and paid homage to the dead “in order to show our solidarity with the affected families”.

Ms Alliot-Marie appreciated the Pakistan government’s assistance, particularly the medical services of the hospital which had taken care of the wounded.

The French minister said that she had discussed matters pertaining to security of the Frenchmen working here.

Replying to a question about the exit of some French nationals from Pakistan after the incident, the French minister said that there were two types of DCN personnel. Those who were here on a permanent basis would remain in Pakistan. But those who came here for temporary assignments, their issue was being discussed in the context of the need for improving security.

She disclosed that 12 injured Frenchmen had left Pakistan in a German Air Force military plane, accompanied by two medical teams. The injured, she said, would be sent to specialised hospitals and hoped their nearness to the family would help in early recovery.

As for the dead, she said that a team of doctors and forensic experts were pursuing their job. She said some of the bodies were mutilated beyond recognition and as soon as the identification job was completed, which might take a few days, the corpses would be airlifted to France in a C-130 plane of the French Air Force.