A number of inquiries have been opened and are currently looking into the different aspects of the Karachi bombing on 8 May 2002, during which eleven French nationals lost their lives. The Karachi bombing hit employees of the Direction des Constructions Navales shipbuilder, working in Pakistan on fitting out three Agosta submarines sold by France. It is up to the judiciary to determine the exact causes of this tragedy, in total independence, and with all the necessary resources. These investigations should be conducted calmly, and with the full cooperation of the authorities. No obstacle has been placed in the way of finding the truth in this affair: the inquiry started on the very day of the bomb attack and has been following its due course since. Contrary to certain contentions, official secrecy has in no way been invoked to inhibit the investigations: both the existing legislative system and government practice are such that official secrecy, whose purpose is to protect the nations fundamental interests, cannot be used to obstruct justice or to shield criminal acts from the law. The judiciary has asked for a certain number of classified documents to be produced at various stages in the procedure. Following an opinion from the Official Secrets Advisory Commission, made up of magistrates and members of Parliament, these documents have been declassified to be handed over. This information has been placed in the case file; it is therefore available to all the parties, and subject to open debate. Turning to the positions, recently adopted by the Constitutional Council and the National Assembly, to refrain from communicating certain information, these decisions are based solely on compliance with the requirements resulting from the Constitution and the law. They have nothing to do with official secrecy. In addition to such speculation, there are the slanderous allegations, sometimes presented as so-called certainties, against Nicolas Sarkozys person and actions, allegations that are based on not a single thread of proof. Unceremonious accusations that the terms of the Agosta defence contract with Pakistan gave rise to illegal contributions to the funding of the presidential campaign of the then Prime Minister, whose accounts were audited by the Constitutional Council, are nothing more than malicious gossip that aims to discredit the political life of our country. Nicolas Sarkozy was, furthermore, never either the director or the treasurer of Edouard Balladurs campaign. He was its spokesperson. This confusion of issues does not make for the calm required for the judicial debate. In this matter, the President of the Republics sole concern is to find the truth owed to the victims families, who have been waiting over eight years to discover the exact circumstances of this tragic attack. FRENCH EMBASSY, Islamabad, December 3