PARIS, May 23: France said on Thursday it was studying the possibility of emulating Britain and evacuating its diplomatic personnel from Pakistan, but that for the moment no decision hads been taken.

A foreign ministry spokesman suggested it may be a good thing that French diplomatic personnel remain in Pakistan, for, he affirms, “during several weeks, our diplomatic representations in Pakistan have been relaying instructions to French citizens and companies in Pakistan recommending greater prudence. This advice has been renewed recently, following the Karachi attack.”

The spokesman also noted that the Quai d’Orsay (foreign ministry) had received no information as to any future terrorist attacks on its nationals in Pakistan, but given the “risk of future terrorist attacks,” was advising French subjects or economic interests to undertake only those trips (to Pakistan) that were “absolutely necessary.” Also, he warned, “increased vigilance is recommended with regard to any deplacement (within Pakistan).”

At Wednesday’s press briefing, the spokesman had noted that the joint inquiry with Pakistani authorities into the Karachi attack that killed eleven persons has turned up “nothing new” with regard to the identity of its authors.

Queried as to where the joint investigation with Pakistani authorities stood two weeks after the attack, he replied that “there are no fundamentally new elements,” although he did go on to affirm that “the inquiry proceeds in a satisfactory manner.”

“Still,” he add, “we’ve made no breakthroughs. The Pakistani authorities are still trying to identify the authors and determine the origin of the attack, and to my knowledge they’ve neglected no avenue of investigation and are doing the best they can.”