WASHINGTON, Oct 22: The International Monetary Fund moved on Wednesday to bail out cash-strapped Pakistan in the Fund’s first bid to shore up an Asian economy following global financial turmoil.

The Washington-based fund said Pakistan had sought its help to deal with a balance of payments crisis, which had raised the prospect of the country defaulting on its foreign debts.

“The Pakistani authorities have requested discussions with the IMF on an economic programme supported by financial assistance from the fund to meet the balance of payments difficulties the country is experiencing as a result of high food and fuel prices and the global financial crisis,” IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in a statement.

“A fund mission will begin discussions with the authorities in the next few days on a programme aimed at strengthening economic stability and enhancing confidence in the financial system,” he said.

Strauss-Kahn said the amount of IMF financing had yet to be determined but reports said that Pakistan needed as much as $15 billion for up to three years to extricate itself from a severe financial crisis.

About $4 billion of that was required in the next month.

“We are in dire need of dollars so the situation is that we have no choice,” a senior Pakistani government official said in Islamabad, speaking on condition of anonymity.

IMF officials were holding talks with Pakistani officials in Dubai which could last a “few days” and a bailout package worth “about half” of what is required by Pakistan could be arranged by the IMF within two weeks, sources told AFP.

“Financing could be made within framework of the fund’s Emergency Financing Mechanism,” Strauss-Kahn said, referring to a fast-track process that the IMF has revived to help countries experiencing economic problems from the global financial crisis.

“Emergency financing is done fairly quickly, possibly within two weeks, and the Dubai meeting will basically determine the amount of financial assistance required ahead of a board decision,” one source said.—AFP