Former French Prime Minister to stand trial in relation to Pakistani arms deal

Former French prime minister Edouard Balladur will stand trial over allegations that kickbacks from an arms deal with Pakistan helped fund his failed 1995 presidential bid, France's top prosecutor said Tuesday.

The Court of Justice of the Republic, a tribunal dedicated to hearing cases of ministerial misconduct, ordered the 90-year-old to face charges alongside former defence minister Francois Leotard, 77, said attorney general Francois Molin.

Balladur was charged in May 2017 with "complicity in misuse of corporate assets and concealment" over the sale of submarines to Pakistan in 1994 when he was premier and hoping to become president.

The claims came to light during an investigation into a 2002 bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, which targeted a bus transporting French engineers, allegedly in revenge for non-payment of bribes.

Fifteen people were killed, including 11 engineers working on the submarine contract.

One of many high profile cases
The Al-Qaeda extremist network was initially suspected of the attack, but the focus later shifted to the arms deal, with investigators probing whether the bombing was revenge for the non-payment of bribes secretly promised to Pakistani officials.

At the time he was charged, Balladur said he would challenge the charges as they failed to take into account that his campaign spending had been vetted by the authorities and that the alleged wrongdoing dated back more than two decades.

The case is one of several high-profile corruption cases ensnaring senior politicians in France, chiefly from the conservative camp.

Former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who had served as Balladur's budget minister, is also embroiled in several scandals, including suspected corruption involving a judge.

Sarkozy was due to hear later Tuesday whether he will be charged in a separate campaign financing case.

(with AFP)