Pakistan

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Security forces guard St. John’s Catholic Church in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan, in 2019.

Pakistan ends mandatory Islamic studies for non-Muslim students

Jan 26, 2024

By Tyler Arnold

Pakistan is ending its mandatory study of Islam for non-Muslim children in first through 12th grade and implementing a new... Read more

Just four days after a mob of Islamist extremists burned down a Christian community in the Pakistani city of Jaranwala, more than 700 Catholics gathered to celebrate Mass outside the decimated St. Paul Catholic Church on Aug. 20, 2023.

Hundreds of Pakistan Catholics celebrate Mass outside burned church days after mob attacks

Aug 24, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

Despite the incredible devastation and widespread fears that another anti-Christian riot would break out, hundreds of Catholics turned to the... Read more

Several mobs attacked Christian communities and set fire to several churches Aug. 16, 2023, in the town of Jaranwala, in Pakistan’s Faisalabad district, after two Christians were accused of defiling the Quran.

Pakistani mobs attack Christian communities, burn churches over blasphemy accusations

Aug 16, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

Church buildings have been desecrated, hundreds of Christian homes destroyed, and thousands of Christians have been forced to flee, according... Read more

Pakistanis protest Nov. 2, 2018, in Lahore, shortly after the nation's supreme court acquitted Asia Bibi of blasphemy charges.

Pakistan’s legislature passes bill to increase blasphemy penalties to life in prison 

Aug 15, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

The legislation would set a maximum penalty of life in prison for blasphemy with a minimum sentence of 10 years... Read more

Pakistanis protest Nov. 2, 2018, in Lahore, shortly after the nation's supreme court acquitted Asia Bibi of blasphemy charges.

Pakistan tightens its already far-reaching blasphemy laws

Jan 23, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

Insulting the Prophet Muhammad is already a capital offense in Pakistan. Under the newest legal changes, those convicted will now... Read more

Christian devotees attend a prayer service at Sacred Heart Cathedral to celebrate Christmas in Lahore, Pakistan, on Dec. 25, 2021.

Christians in Pakistan celebrate Christmas amid heightened security

Dec 28, 2022

By Aftab Alexander Mughal

For the last few weeks, law enforcement agencies put into place comprehensive security arrangements for church services held on Christmas. Read more

Members of the faithful attend an Easter Sunday Mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore, Pakistan, on April 17, 2022. A July 2022 report from the Center for Social Justice discussed the issues of blasphemy laws, forced conversion, and biased school curriculum for religious minorities in the country.

Pakistani civil society rejects government’s allegations against Catholic-rights group

Aug 31, 2022

By Aftab Alexander Mughal

The government of Pakistan maligned the group for “alleged anti-state propaganda” by submitting a human-rights report in July to the... Read more

A woman carrying a child walks along a street during a heavy rainfall in the flood-hit Dera Allah Yar town in Jaffarabad district, Balochistan province, Pakistan, on Aug. 30, 2022. Aid efforts ramped up across flooded Pakistan to help tens of millions of people affected by relentless monsoon rains that have submerged a third of the country and claimed more than 1,100 lives.

Pakistani Church leaders call for help for flood victims amid national emergency

Aug 30, 2022

By Aftab Alexander Mughal

More than 1,100 people have been killed, and more than 33 million people have been displaced or affected in some... Read more

European Court of Human Rights.

European court sides with Pakistani Christian convert

Apr 29, 2022

By CNA Staff

The court said the asylum applicant’s explusion to Pakistan would violate his human rights. Read more

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School credits for Pakistan inmates should apply to non-Muslims, too, petition states

Mar 21, 2022

By Aftab Alexander Mughal

Inmates in Pakistan's Punjab province can cut their jail time by taking classes, but only Muslim inmates are given the... Read more

A young girl lights a candle at a Marian grotto in Pakistan.

Anglican pastor shot dead in Pakistan on way home from church

Jan 31, 2022

By Courtney Mares

“This ambush undermines peace and religious harmony throughout the country,” Archbishop Benny Mario Travas said. Read more

The Supreme Court of Pakistan in Islamabad.

Pakistan’s top court grants bail to Christian facing blasphemy charge

Jan 10, 2022

By CNA Staff

A lawyer hailed the decision as ‘a very important ruling.’ Read more

Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel with three of their children after being released from death row in Pakistan July 1, 2021

After 7 years on death row in Pakistan, Christian couple granted asylum in Europe

Aug 13, 2021

By Hannah Brockhaus

A Pakistani Christian couple are "relieved to finally be free" after more than seven years on death row for false... Read more

Shahbaz Bhatti, who was assassinated March 2, 2011, speaks at a 2010 press conference in Islamabad.

'He refused to be silent.' What a slain Pakistani religious freedom advocate can teach the world

Mar 4, 2021

Ten years after his assassination, various world leaders have praised the life and death of Shahbaz Bhatti, a Pakistan cabinet... Read more

The flag of Pakistan.

Two Christians accused of breaking Pakistan's blasphemy law

Feb 16, 2021

Two Christian evangelists could face the death penalty after being charged with violating Pakistan’s blasphemy law after an encounter in... Read more

Cardinal Joseph Coutts at the Rome office of Aid to the Church in Need April 2, 2019. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.

Pope Francis names 54-year-old successor to Cardinal Coutts in Karachi

Feb 11, 2021

Pope Francis on Thursday named a 54-year-old successor to Cardinal Joseph Coutts as Archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan.  Read more

A portrait of Shahbaz Bhatti from the Pakistan National Assembly roster. Credit: www.na.gov.pk.

Catholics remember Shahbaz Bhatti 10 years after his assassination in Pakistan

Jan 15, 2021

By Courtney Mares

The diocese of Rome will host a memorial Mass on Friday for Servant of God Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic politician in Pakistan... Read more

Azoo Raja.

Pakistan Catholics protest after abduction, forced marriage of 13 year-old Catholic girl

Oct 29, 2020

By CNA Staff

Catholics in Pakistan are protesting a judge’s decision not to intervene after a 44-year-old man allegedly kidnapped a 13-year-old Catholic girl,... Read more

Imran Khan, now the prime minister of Pakistan, speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 26, 2012.

Archbishop Chaput asks Pakistani PM to follow through on religious liberty

Jan 22, 2020

On behalf of Philadelphia’s Pakistani Catholic community, Archbishop Charles Chaput encouraged the Pakistani prime minister Tuesday to shape a culture... Read more

The flag of Pakistan.

Pakistani court overturns blasphemy conviction of Muslim man

Sep 27, 2019

Pakistan's Supreme Court acquitted a man Wednesday who was sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2002, saying there was a... Read more