WASHINGTON: The world’s financial experts, now meeting in Washington, have placed Pakistan on a list of 36 countries that face a serious food crisis, warning that if the situation worsens people may raid storage facilities for food.

Reports distributed at the World Bank’s spring meetings noted that “in Pakistan and Thailand, army troops have been deployed to avoid seizing of food from the fields and from warehouses”. India, Egypt, Indonesia, Peru, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mauritania are also on the list of countries where food shortage has already led to deadly riots.

The reports, prepared by various agencies affiliated with the World Bank, sited “insecurity and past floods” for food shortages in Pakistan, adding that it’s among the 36 countries that need immediate external assistance to prevent further deterioration.

Most of the countries on this list -– except India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan -– are in Africa and are among the poorest in the world. But a World Bank report also noted that wheat crop prospects for 2008 in Pakistan are quite good. Current indications suggest that the 2008 output may equal last year’s crop. The report, however, said Pakistan did not have a widespread social assistance programme targeting the poorest of the poor.