2002 Karachi Bus Bombing - Karachigate

Karachigate

Contrary to official announcements by both the Pakistani and French governments at the time, it is now thought unlikely that those responsible for the attack had links to al-Qaeda. French magistrates believe that the attack was orchestrated by Pakistani intelligence and military officials in retaliation for the failure of the French to pay them $33 million that had been previously agreed upon. The resulting scandal has been dubbed "Karachigate".

An investigation is currently underway in France in order to establish the extent to which former Prime Minister Edouard Balladur and former President Nicolas Sarkozy were implicated in the sale of kickbacks to Pakistan officials. Sarkozy was allegedly involved in accepting kickbacks from Pakistan to fund the presidential campaign of Balladur. When Jacques Chirac came to power, he cancelled the Pakistani official's kickbacks, angering those in that country.