| Summary/Abstract |
The discussion of Christians in Pakistan usually starts off with them being viewed as a besieged minority without agency which was marginalised further as Pakistan became more ‘Islamic’ through official legislation, particularly under the regime of General Zia ul-Haq in the 1980s. This article attempts to historicise this narrative by focusing on the 1950s and 1960s. It argues that in the early years of Pakistan’s existence, Christians narrated themselves as being important for the very formation of Pakistan and believed that a more equal citizenship was possible, but the environment of political repression under General Ayub Khan, and the war with India in 1965, quickly closed off such possibilities.
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