Armenians in Pakistan
| Total population |
|---|
| 40,000[citation needed] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore |
| Languages |
The Armenians in Pakistan are ethnic Armenians living in the country Pakistan. Many Armenians migrated from the surrounding countries of Iran, Afghanistan and india. Armenians have settled various parts of South Asia and many migrated to Karachi during the economic boom in the early 20th century. Notable Armenian settlements in Pakistan can be found in the cities of Karachi, Lahore and in the capital Islamabad.
History
There was a fairly large Armenian colony in Lahore as early as the 16th century, in the time of the Moghul Empire. Armenians prospered there, and while most were general merchants, members of the community were also noted as owners of breweries.
In 1711, there was a Bishop of the Armenian Church in Lahore. However, many Armenians, including twenty merchants with their families, fled from the city after a Moghul governor threatened them. The community of the 17th and 18th centuries was greatly reduced, but with the arrival of British India, an Armenian presence continued in this part of the subcontinent until the early 20th century. In 1907, the remaining Armenians in Lahore were visited by Armenian Archbishop Sahak Ayvadian, a primate of the Indo-Iranian Diocese in Calcutta.[1]
The numbers of Armenians in present-day Pakistan are much lower than they once were, but there is still an Armenian presence in Karachi, estimated at around two hundred individuals. They have further been bolstered by newer Armenian migrants from have arrived from neighbooring Iran and Afghanistan and exact figures are uncertain due to census irregularities and the fact that many Armenians simply pass themselves off as Parsis or Muslims in official government records.
References
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