By the end of Good Friday, Misquita’s staff will make and sell hundreds of buns, working around the clock and appeasing antsy customers who show up as early as three am in wait of the sugar-dusted treats.

Last year, the bakery sold over 2,000 buns in an Easter frenzy that one customer likens to a clothing sale.

Hot cross buns are an Easter tradition that has survived in Karachi for almost a hundred years. Over 100 years of British rule in Pakistan transformed Karachi from a mainly Muslim settlement to a more multicultural city, with many Christian residents. Today, the number of Christians in the city is small - around 2.4 per cent of the population. Many have emigrated, driven by pervasive street crime, militant attacks on churches, the lack of social and economic advancement, and a prevailing sense of insecurity in the country. But for those that remain, a hot cross bun is an integral part of Easter.