IMF urged to aid Pakistan quickly

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The International Monetary Fund has only a few days to save Pakistan from financial meltdown, Germany's foreign minister said Tuesday.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the Financial Times reported. He told reporters afterward an "appropriate loan" must be made soon.

"I hope the decision will be taken soon," he said. "It won't help to have it in six months or six weeks. Rather, we need it in the coming six days."

Finance ministry officials say Pakistan needs up to $5 billion for the fiscal year ending in June 2009 to meet its debt payments. Officials from other countries fear bankruptcy in Pakistan would make an already unstable situation worse in a country that has nuclear weapons.

A Pakistani official told the Times negotiations with the IMF are reaching a conclusion and the government expects a letter of intent within a couple of days.