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“I was expecting a drop [in the Christian population], as so many people have migrated to Bangkok, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta in recent decades,” said Father Bonnie Mendes, former regional coordinator of Caritas Asia.
Census shows decline of Pakistan s Christian population
Bishop Shukardin says the figures are misleading because many Christians do not have identity cards
The Christian population in Pakistan has declined over almost two decades, according to government data.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics report of the sixth Population and Housing Census-2017, released on May 18, Christians make up 1.27 per cent of Pakistan s population of 207.68 million. Most of them (1.88 percent) reside in Punjab.
Hindus comprised 1.73 per cent of Pakistan s population, making them the biggest minority group in the country.
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Local priest condemns arrest of Christian nurses in Pakistan
Nurses Mariam Lal (second left) and Newish Urooj (second right) are pictured with police in this April 2021 photo. The women, both Christian, were accused of violating Pakistan’s blasphemy law during an April 8 shift at the Civil Hospital in Faisalabad. (Photo courtesy of INCPak)
By Gina Christian • Posted April 28, 2021
An archdiocesan priest originally from Pakistan has condemned the recent arrest of two Christian nurses on charges of blasphemy in his native country.
“Unfortunately, the numbers of such false cases against Christian women are increasing,” said Father Tariq Isaac, chaplain of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Pakistani Catholic community and parochial vicar at St. William Parish in Philadelphia.