ISLAMABAD, May 23: Pakistan has developed a capacity to go into the international capital market to raise funds instead of traditionally looking towards the World Bank and IMF to partially fund the country’s budget, says a senior official of the ministry of finance. Talking to this correspondent, he said Pakistan’s credit rating had improved, helping it to raise funds also by floating Sukuk and Eurobonds in the recent past.

Clarifying remarks of the State Minister for Finance Omar Ayub Khan contained in a report which appeared in Dawn on Saturday, the official said that Pakistan was not exclusively reliant now on international financial institutions to fund its budget. “The strength of our economy has provided us alternatives to raise funds, other than international financial institution”, he added.