"From a U.S. point of view, the political fallout from an economic collapse would be very, very dangerous," Selig Harrison at the Center for International Policy told USA Today.

The Pakistani economy is already in "a state of crisis," said the Economic Intelligence Unit, which assesses risk in various countries.

Zubair Iqbal of the Middle East Institute in Washington said he was optimistic political stability would hold in the nuclear-armed country but, signs of distress are prevalent.

"Every day that passes, things get worse. The economy is in a down spin," Iqbal said ti USA Today.

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