PARIS, 26 July — Although the French government has decided to shut down the building that houses its consular services in Karachi, the Foreign Ministry affirms that there will be no change in the way France handles the services it provides to its nationals in Karachi.
In the wake of a report by French security experts according to which its existing consulate cannot be rendered more secure, France has decided to temporarily close the building where it has provided consular services to its nationals, but says that it will continue to handle consular affairs through a temporary office located on the premises of the British Consulate General in Karachi.
The announcement was made at the French Foreign Ministry’s daily news conference by Bernard Valero, the Quai d’Orsay spokesman who was reacting to a journalist’s question. “Can you confirm the closing of the French consulate in Karachi?,” asked the journalist, who was told that in fact “our consulate general in Karachi remains open.”
But, Valero noted that, “with a view to assuring the best conditions for the security of our consular post, we’ve decided, in accord with our British partners, to proceed with the temporary installation of our consular activities on the premises of the British Consulate General in Karachi.”
On May 25, asked whether France would be emulating Great Britain and recalling all of its personnel, another Foreign Ministry spokesman, Francois Rivasseau, had indicated that “we’ve asked our nationals to take their dispositions to leave Pakistani territory if their presence is not considered indispensable.”
Eleven French nationals, all working for the Direction de la Construction Navale (DCN), an arm of the French Defense Ministry, were killed on May 8 during a terrorist attack in Karachi as they were being taken to work at the Karachi naval shipyard where they were supervising construction of an Agosta-90B submarine, the second of three to be built according to a 1994 agreement between France and Pakistan.
At the same May 25 press conference Rivasseau had noted that as for the “war clouds” that were “approaching” with regard to India and Pakistan, “it’s a situation that we’ve been following with the greatest attention.”
He also noted that French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin had telephoned the foreign affairs ministers of India and Pakistan in New Delhi and Islamabad with regard to the “storm clouds” gathering overhead.
As for the Kashmir, Rivadeau had noted that the French government felt that “more than ever it was necessary that a (firm) engagement in the fight against terrorism must prevail.”
