The demand for a separate province, although unlikely to succeed, is a further blow to the ideal of Pakistan’s founding father, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, of a secular country that would be home to India’s Muslims but where all would be free to worship their own religion.

The move is the brainchild of Younus Masih Bhatti, president of the Pakistan United Christian Welfare Association, who wants a government commission on new provinces to consider the plight of Christians.

“So, keeping in view the two million Christians in the country and a sense of insecurity among them, there is a requirement for a separate province for them so that they can enjoy equal rights like the majority,” he said.