The flag of Pakistan ( ur, ) traces its current form back to a meeting of the

Constituent Assembly of Pakistan The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan ( bn, পাকিস্তান গণপরিষদ, Pākistān Goṇoporishod; ur, , Aāin Sāz Asimblī) was established in August 1947 to frame a constitution for Pakistan. It also served as its first ...

on 11 August 1947, three days before the

Partition of British India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

, when it was adopted by the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcont ...

as the official flag-to-be of the

Dominion of Pakistan Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of I ...

. It was retained upon the establishment of a constitution in 1956, and remains in use as the national flag for the present-day

Islamic Republic of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. The flag is made up of a green field with a stylized tilted white crescent moon and five-pointed star at its centre, and a vertical white stripe at its hoist-end. Though the specific shade of green on the flag is mandated only as 'dark green', its official and most consistent representation is in

Pakistan green Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint b ...

, which is shaded distinctively darker. Most notably, the flag is referred to in the third verse of Pakistan's national anthem, and is widely flown on several important days of the year, including

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially cal ...

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

and

Defence Day Defence Day ( ur, ALA-LC: ) is celebrated in Pakistan as national day to commemorate the sacrifices made by Pakistani soldiers in defending its borders.Taha SiddiquiDear Pakistanis, this Defence Day, please stop celebrating hate Al Jazeera ...

. It is also hoisted every morning at schools, offices and government buildings to the playing of the national anthem and lowered again before sunset. A very elaborate flag-raising and lowering ceremony is carried out every evening by the

Pakistan Rangers The Pakistan Rangers ( ur, ) are a paramilitary federal law enforcement organization in Pakistan, operating under the authority of the Interior Secretary of Pakistan. Their primary purpose is to secure and defend sites of significance in the ...

and their Indian Border Security Force counterparts at the

Wagah Wagah ( ur, ) or Wagha (Shahmukhi pnb, ) is a village and union council (UC 181) located in the Wahga Zone near Lahore City District, Pakistan. The town is famous for the Wagah border ceremony and also serves as a goods transit terminal and ...

–

Attari Attari, also spelled Atari, is a village of Amritsar district in the Punjab state of India, 3 km from the Indo-Pakistani border at Wagah. It is situated 25 km west of the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, and is the last Indian station on ...

border crossing between

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and Pakistan, which is regularly attended by hundreds of spectators. The

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

has formalized rules and regulations related to the flying of the national flag; it is to be displayed all day at full-mast on 23 March annually to commemorate the adoption of the

Lahore Resolution The Lahore Resolution ( ur, , ''Qarardad-e-Lahore''; Bengali: লাহোর প্রস্তাব, ''Lahor Prostab''), also called Pakistan resolution, was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and was presented by A. K. Fazlul ...

in 1940 and the declaration of Pakistan as an independent

Islamic republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a theoretical form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been u ...

with a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

in 1956, both of which occurred on the same day. The same regulations also apply on 14 August annually, in celebration of Pakistan's day of independence; when the country was carved out from erstwhile

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

as the homeland and

nation-state A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...

for the

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

of the Indian subcontinental.

History

In 1947, the

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

, proposed a national flag for the state of Pakistan which comprised the flag of the

albeit with a

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

in the canton. This proposal was rejected by

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

on the grounds that a flag featuring both Saint George's Christian Cross alongside an Islamic star and crescent would not be accepted by the

Pakistani people Pakistanis ( ur, , translit=Pākistānī Qaum, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. According to the 2017 Pakistani national census, the population of Pakistan stood at over 213 million people, making it the w ...

Symbolism

The Islamic green of the flag represents the Muslim-majority populace of Pakistan while the white stripe on the hoist-end represents its various religious minorities i.e. Non-Muslims, such as

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

, Zoroastrians and

others Others or The Others may refer to: Fictional characters * Others (A Song of Ice and Fire), Others (''A Song of Ice and Fire''), supernatural creatures in the fictional world of George R. R. Martin's fantasy series ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' * Ot ...

. The combined star and crescent serve as a symbol of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, with the crescent representing progress and the five-pointed star representing light and knowledge. The flag symbolizes Pakistan's commitment to both Islam as well as the rights of religious minorities. The Pakistan Flag is based on the original flag of the

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. **Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...

, which itself drew inspiration from the

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

Design

The official design of the national flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly together with a definition of the features and proportions. According to the specifications, it is a dark green rectangular flag in the proportion of length and width as 3:2 with a white vertical bar at the mast, the green portion bearing a white crescent in the centre and a five-pointed white heraldic star. The width of the white portion is one quarter the length of the flag nearest the mast, so the green portion occupies the remaining three quarters Draw a diagonal L3 from the top right-hand corner to the bottom left corner of the green portion. On this diagonal establish two points P1 and P2. P1 is positioned at the centre of the green portion and P2 at the intersection of the diagonal L3 and an arc C4 created from the top right-hand corner equal to 13/20 the height of the flag With the centre at point P1 and a radius 3/10 the height of the flag describe the first circle C1 and with the centre at point P2 and a radius 11/40 the height of the flag describe a second circle C2. The enclosures made by these two circles form the crescent. The dimensions of the five-pointed white heraldic star are determined by drawing a circle C3 with a radius 1/10 the height of the flag positioned between P2 and P3 on the diagonal L3. The circle surrounds the five points of the heraldic star and the star lies with one point on the diagonal L3 at point P3 where circle C1 intersects the diagonal L3. The flag is coloured in

having standard RGB values (red = 0, green = 64, blue = 26) or with hex triplet #00401A or the HSV value = (h = 144, s = 100, v = 25). The left strip, the star and the crescent are painted in white. The flag is supported from left white side. Flig

Dimensions

The Interior Ministry of Pakistan provides dimensions for flags in different circumstances: * For ceremonial occasions: 24′ × 16′, 21′ × 14′, 18′ × 12′, 11′ × ′ or 9′ × ′. * For use over buildings: 6′ × 4′ or 3′ × 2′. * For cars: 24″ × 16″. * For tables: ″ × ″.

Colour scheme

The official design says "dark green". However, #00401A seems to be the most widely used colour.

National flag protocols

* No other flag must fly higher (except the United Nations flag at United Nations buildings). * When displayed or flown alongside other national flags, the National Flag must be displayed or flown at the same height as the other national flags, never lower. * When displayed alongside provincial, military or corporate flags, the National Flag must be higher. * When tied to a mast, it must be tied only at the left (at the beginning of the white bar) and left to fly freely without any obstruction. * Must not touch the ground, shoes or feet or anything unclean. * Must never be flown in darkness. * Must be raised at dawn and lowered at dusk (except on the Parliament of Pakistan, which is the only official building on which the flag is never lowered). When flown over the Parliament of Pakistan at night, it must always remain alit with artificial light * Must not be marked with anything (including words or pictures). * When raising: (i) must be saluted to by all uniformed personnel, (ii) others must stand in attention. * Must be raised or lowered ceremoniously. * Must never be displayed vertically. * When displayed horizontally, the white strip must always be at the left, with green field on the right. * Must not fly or be displayed upside down or with the crescent and star facing left. * Must not be displayed anywhere where it is likely to get dirty. * Must not be set on fire or trampled upon. * Must not be buried or lowered into a grave (when burying a flag-bearing casket, the National Flag must be detached from the casket and held above the grave as the casket is lowered or removed from the casket before burial).

Flag flying days

Use by public officials

The use of the national flag is regulated by the

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Flag Rules, which were introduced in 2002 by Prime Minister

Zafarullah Khan Jamali Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali (; 1 January 1940 – 2 December 2020) was a Pakistan, Pakistani politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Pakistan from 2002 until his resignation in 2004. He was the first and only elected prime minister fro ...

. The rules are not available online but there have been instances of misuse such as officials using flags on their vehicles when they are not entitled to do so. The national flag is flown on the official residences and vehicles (cars, boats, planes) of the following public officials:

Milestones

* 2019 – The largest balloon mosaic (flag) is 180.172 m² (1939 ft² 37 in²) achieved by Pakistan Hindu Council (Pakistan) in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 5 August 2019. It is a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. *2017 – On 14 August, People of Balochistan hoisted a 2-mile-long flag of Pakistan in Quetta. * 2014 – On 15 February, 29,040 people gathered in a stadium in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

to form the flag of Pakistan and set a new world record for forming the world's largest national flag comprising humans, which was certified by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. * 2012 – On 22 October, 24,200 people gathered in a stadium in

to form the flag of Pakistan and set a new world record for forming the world's largest national flag comprising humans, which was certified by

. * 2004 – In August, a 340 × 510 ft (173,400 square foot) flag of Pakistan was unfurled at the

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

Karachi, setting the world record for the largest flag. * 1947 – On the night of 14 August 1947, a group of

n Boy Scouts were in France when the news reached them that their country had become independent. Mohammad Iqbal Qureshi was one of the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

boy scouts who with the help of his friends turned a green turban into a Pakistani flag and unfurled it. 15 August 1947 was the first time when the Pakistani flag flew on foreign soil.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Pakistan

National symbols of Pakistan