For the past two decades, Abdul Rehman has been telling stories of St Thomas the Apostle’s visit to the Sirkaparchaeological site in Punjab province.

“Christian pilgrims, pastors, priests, foreign tourists and students of history are among the top visitors,” said the 47-year-old tour guide. “These also include many Muslims who claim to have had their prayers answered. However none of them will proclaim this publicly.”

According to tradition, St Thomas passed through Taxila on his way to India and preached at the court of King Gondophares. An early third-century Syriac work known as the Acts of Thomas, discovered in 1822 in Syria, says the king gave some money to the saint and ordered him to build a royal palace.