A senior Pakistani official said here on Thursday that Pakistan will only resort to help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the last option to deal with current balance of payment crisis.

Pakistan needs four to five billion U.S. dollars in thirty days for stabilizing the country's economy, said Shaukat Tareen, advisor to prime minister on finance, at a press conference.

Pakistan is facing severe economic difficulties with plunging foreign exchange reserves and high inflation. The rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the country's sovereign debt to level of CCC-plus, close to defaulting on its commitments of external loan repayment.

Analysts said the foreign exchange reserves can only afford one or two months imports for the country.

Tareen ruled out possible debt default, saying the government has three plans in place to overcome the economic difficulties.

Pakistan is seeking loans from international donor funds and member states of Friends of Pakistan group, which will convene a meeting next month in the United Arab Emirates.

But Tareen said that Pakistan will seek help from the IMF as a "plan C" if the other two plans fail.

The worsening security situation, dwarfed investors's confidence, has contributed to the ongoing financial crisis in the country. The deadly attack on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad killed 53 last month.

In Tuesday's interview with Xinhua, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said the world should lend a helping hand to Pakistan as the country has suffered a lot in the frontline of anti-terror war.

"Certainly when there is one suicide bomb in my country, there is flight of capital. At the same time, because of one suicide attack, there is no investment in my country," Gilani said.

"Our friends should help us at the difficult time," Gilani added.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2008)