Pakistan, Dec. 16 -- The government is expecting to raise up to Rs700 billion next month through domestic Ijara Sukuk to support its budgetary position and deepen the Islamic banking industry.

A senior government official told Dawn that the Ministry of Finance would give a detailed presentation to the coming meeting of the federal cabinet about the country's debt profile and an attractive opportunity to raise funds from the domestic market.

He said the cabinet was requested last week to grant the go-ahead for "issuance of Islamic Ijara Sukuk against unencumbered land of Jinnah International Airport, Karachi" in the domestic market for which three banks had already been selected as transaction advisers through a transparent process.

How...