Foreign minister says Pakistan in `perfect storm’ of crises

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Pakistan’s foreign minister says his country is facing “a perfect storm” of troubles — an economic crisis, the consequences of catastrophic flooding and terrorism “that is once again rearing its ugly head” as a result of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said in a wide-ranging interview Thursday with The Associated Press that Pakistan is also beset by “hyper-partisan and hyper-polarized politics.” And he was sharply critical of the International Monetary Fund, which last month delayed a $6 billion bailout for cash-strapped Pakistan over its failure to meet the terms of a previous deal. He accused the IMF of ignoring 5 million poor Pakistani flood victims without homes or crops who need help now.