Pakistan

Shahbaz Bhatti ‘one of the finest Christian leaders we had,’ cardinal says
- Mar 2, 2021
On the 10th anniversary of the assassination of a Pakistani minister Shahbaz Bhatti, known for his advocacy on behalf of religious minorities, the country’s top Catholic leader praised the politician as a champion of human and minority rights.

By Elise Ann Allen
Pakistani court grants bail to Christian in blasphemy case
- Mar 1, 2021
A Pakistani court on Monday granted bail to a Christian man convicted in 2018 while still a teenager of insulting Islam by posting a picture of Islam’s holiest site on social media, a defense lawyer said.

By Babar Dogar
Pakistan experts: Religiosity fostering rise in militancy
- Feb 27, 2021
Militant attacks are on the rise in Pakistan amid a growing religiosity that has brought greater intolerance, prompting one expert to voice concern the country could be overwhelmed by religious extremism.

By Kathy Gannon

Pakistani couple’s appeal of blasphemy sentence postponed
- Feb 24, 2021
A Pakistani court Wednesday adjourned without hearing a much-awaited appeal from a Christian couple facing the death penalty for the last seven years after being convicted of blasphemy, a defense lawyer said.

By Babar Dogar

New Karachi archbishop emphasizes ‘good relations with other faiths’
- Feb 14, 2021
The newly appointed archbishop of Karachi says “good relations with the faiths” will be an important part of his mission has head of the Church in Pakistan’s largest city and financial capital.

By Nirmala Carvalho
Pakistani Catholic girl kidnapped and forced to marry seeks asylum in UK
- Feb 5, 2021
Maira Shahbaz was 14 years old when she was kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam last year. She’s one of an estimated 1,000 Christian and Hindu girls who are kidnapped, forced to convert and marry their captors in Pakistan each year.

By Inés San Martín
Each year 1,000 Pakistani girls forcibly converted to Islam
- Dec 28, 2020
Neha loved the hymns that filled her church with music. But she lost the chance to sing them last year when, at the age of 14, she was forcibly converted from Christianity to Islam and married to a 45-year-old man with children twice her age.

By Kathy Gannon
Catholic leaders in Pakistan condemn forced conversion, marriage of Christian girl, 13
- Oct 30, 2020
Catholic leaders in Pakistan are demanding the government “take serious notice” of the kidnapping and forced conversion and marriage of Christian girl in Karachi earlier this month.

By Nirmala Carvalho