Bishop Buta Gulshan
Presiding Prelate I.F.O.C.C. Pakistan
I.F.O.C.C. Plays a major role participating in the gathering of Christian churches under the banner of the Five Fold Ministry. I.F.O.C.C. oversees and covers 300 churches and ministries in Pakistan. I.F.O.C.C. has License, Ordain and Consecrated many Bishops and Apostles in Pakistan to bring Unity to the body of Christ and to empower and give hope to the Christian Churches they serve.
1. Christians are Pakistan’s second-largest minority group after Hindus. Pakistan’s Christians make up about just under 2 percent of the population.
2. The majority of Pakistan’s Christians are descendants of low caste Hindus who converted under the rule of the British to escape their position in society. Most found employment in the garrison towns and most of these places still have an area known as Lal Kurti where the converts lived, according to a report by the BBC.
3. Christians live throughout the provinces of Pakistan, and the majority are in the villages of the Punjab and the cities of Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar.
4. St Peter’s Catholic Church in Karachi is the largest one in the country. Thousands of Christians worship in the 21,000 square foot building which cost over $3 million to build and opened its doors in 2012, reports a story in the Huffington Post.
5. Though once a safe country for Christians to live, recent strict blasphemy laws have made Pakistan a dangerous place for Christians. Courts give sentences of death or a lifetime of imprisonment to those convicted of insulting Islam and attacks on Christians are growing, according to the Huffington Post .
6. The Protestant Church of Pakistan is the only one in the world where Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, and Presbyterian Christians unite to pray, according to Britannica.com. The denomination was founded in 1970 and is second only to the Catholic Church in number.
7. Christians are split equally in numbers between Catholics and Protestants in Pakistan. The Church of Pakistan is the largest of the Protestant faith. Others include The United Presbyterian Church, Baptists, Seventh-Day Adventists, and the Pentecostal Church with many other smaller churches, according to a brief created by the Home Office of the government of the United Kingdom.
8. In Pakistan, Christians suffer discrimination, but are allowed to practice their faith, worship in church, celebrate religious holidays and open schools and hospitals, according to the UK Home Office report.
9. Settlers from Goa in India form a large part of the Christian population of Karachi. The first Pakistan cardinal, Joseph Cordeiro, was a Goan, as was Charles Lobo, the chairman of the Public Services Commission and a delegate to the UN, reports The Times of India.
10. Attacks on Christians in Pakistan have increased in recent times, mainly from the Pakistani Taliban. Suicide bombers have killed people in attacks on churches and Christians have employed their own security at services, according to the Washington Post.