Editorial

Some closure at last

It is heartening to see there has been some measure of justice in a case that most of the world had long forgotten

Editorial June 22, 2020

Defence contracts tend to be murky business. One would naively hope that no country in the world would spare any expense when it comes to national security, but one would be wrong. The fact is that there are myriad factors that drive a government’s security calculus, and that is especially true when it comes to defence procurements. Open a book on military deals in the past and you will find a litany of kickbacks, commissions and bribes, besides other scandals.

The Karachi Affair — as it is being referred to as — is among the most notorious military procurement scandals anywhere in the world. As the story goes, during Benazir Bhutto’s regime in the 1990s, massive commissions and kickbacks were exchanged between Pakistani and French officials over negotiations to acquire Agosta 90B class submarines from a French company.

Investigative reports exposed the scandal to the public, tarnishing the image of many senior Pakistani and French figures who were allegedly involved in the illegal affair. Even so, the case has dragged on for more than a quarter of a century. Only recently, has there been some closure after a French court awarded three former senior French officials prison terms — the first in the case. A former French prime minister, Edouard Balladur, continues to face a separate trial over allegations that he used some of the kickbacks to help fund his presidential bid.

It is heartening to see that there has been some measure of justice in a case that most of the world had long forgotten. One hopes the French court would not stop there and pursue the matter further. Back home, perhaps it is time we too review our culpability in the case. For all the fuss we make over national security, perhaps we should introspect on how far our words match our actions.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22^nd, 2020.

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