Washington, Dec. 15 : With Pakistan engulfed by internal political turmoil and international pressure to take action against radical elements operating from its soil, it is headed for a major economic crisis, claims former Finance Minister Shahid Javed Burki.

There is going to be a drastic reduction in national growth rate - with high inflation, galloping urban unemployment and a sharp increase in poverty, he warned.

"The gravity of the economic crisis facing Pakistan has not been sufficiently recognised, considering that the country's 2009 gross domestic product (GDP) will decline to 2.5 percent and there will be a sharp fall in its rate of growth," the Daily Times quoted Burki ,as saying.