NEW YORK, Sept 26: Pakistan immediately needs $10-to-15 billion to deal with the current economic crisis, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir told a briefing in New York.

Mr Bashir, who participated in the inaugural meeting of the Friends of Pakistan group, said the new government was aware of the economic challenges facing the country and was taking steps to cope with them “$10 to 15 billion is our immediate requirement,” he said.

The foreign secretary said the World Bank had agreed to release $500 million while others also had offered to help.

The European Union, he said, was stepping in to support food and economic stabilisation programmes.

The secretary was responding to a host of questions from a group of Pakistani journalists who were upset that the Friends of Pakistan forum made no concrete commitment about financial assistance.

The journalists referred to reports in the US media that Pakistan immediately needs $10 billion to avoid bankruptcy but the government seemed oblivious to the threat of an economic meltdown. Mr Bashir disagreed with the suggestion. “We know that we do need some immediate fusions in terms of foreign exchange requirements,” he said.

Mr Bashir said the group also acknowledged the problem and details were being worked out with the countries individually and collectively.

“This is a multi-track, across-the-board process in a number of areas, covering strategic, political and economic issues,” he added.

Mr Bashir, however, made it clear that Pakistan was not seeking yet another donor-recipient partnership to deal with the economic crisis.

Instead, it was focusing on developing a more comprehensive approach that would enable the country also to develop its own resources.

“The important message that we got from this meeting was that we will address all short-, medium- and long-term issues,” the foreign secretary said.

Mr Bashir said the Friends of Pakistan group was meant as the beginning of a process that would be much more than a donor conference.

“There are international and regional responsibilities for the situation Pakistan faces today and we want the international community to recognise its responsibilities,” he said.

“If they want to see a successful conclusion (of the war against terror), then Pakistan’s development capacity has to be enhanced.”