List of Pakistani flags

This is a list of flags used in Pakistan.

National flag

Flag Date Use Description
1947–present National flag of Pakistan A white star and crescent on a dark green field, with a vertical white stripe at the hoist. The tips of the moon and star point towards the upper fly corner.
National flag of Pakistan (vertical) When displayed vertically, the white stripe is placed at the top and the star and crescent point towards the bottom right.

Government flags

Flag Date Use Description
1947–present Standard of the president of Pakistan The crescent and star surrounded by wheat branches on a green field, with the Urdu name for Pakistan below, with a white side.
1974–1998 The crescent and star surrounded by wheat branches on a green field, with the Urdu name for Pakistan below.
1956–1967 The crescent and star surrounded by wheat branches on a blue field, with the Urdu name for Pakistan below.
1954–present Standard of the prime minister of Pakistan
?–present Flag of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Emblem of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in gold on green field with gold side.
?–present Flag of the Pakistan Federal Shariat Court Emblem of the Pakistan Federal Shariat Court in gold with white crescent and star and book on green field with white side.
1953–1956 Standard of the governor-general of Pakistan The governor-general flag of Pakistan was used from 1953 until 1956.
1947–1953 The flag from 1947 to 1956, the governor-general of Pakistan used a dark blue flag bearing the royal crest (a lion standing on the Crown), beneath which was the word 'PAKISTAN' in gold majuscules. The same design is still used by many other governors-general. This last flag was the personal flag of the governor-general only. This flag was used from 1947 until 1952.[contradictory]

Civil ensign

Flag Date Use Description
1947–present Civil ensign of Pakistan A red ensign with the flag of Pakistan in the canton influenced by the Red Ensign

Civil air ensign

Flag Date Use Description
?–present Civil air ensign of Pakistan An ensign with the flag of Pakistan in the canton influenced by the British design

Provincial and territorial flags

Flag Date Use Description
Current provinces
2005–present Flag of Sindh A traditional green flag, with the provincial emblem in the centre.
1970–present Flag of Punjab A traditional green flag, with the provincial emblem in the centre. The emblem reflects Punjab's natural resources: its wheat, and the five rivers which give the province its name in Persian (from Punj = Five, Aab = Waters).
2011–present Flag of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa A traditional green flag, with the provincial emblem on the flag shows the Jamrud fort which guards the Khyber Pass, and mountains in the back.
2005–present Flag of Balochistan A traditional green flag, with the provincial emblem in the centre. The emblem shows stylised mountains of this barren province and the principal mode of transport: the Dromedary camel, also the provincial animal of Balochistan.
2011–present Flag of Gilgit-Baltistan A traditional green flag, with the provincial emblem on the flag showing the Baltit Fort and the Skardu Fort which guards the Himalayas (including K2), the designated national peak in the back.
1975–present Flag of Azad Kashmir The flag displays the Pakistani national colours, white and dark green, with a crescent and star to represent the Muslim majority, and a saffron square to represent the Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, and other minorities of the disputed region, the colours are clearly influenced by the Mughal Empire. The four white stripes symbolise the main rivers of the Kashmir region; Indus, Jhelum, Chenab and Ravi. It also represents the five geographic divisions of the disputed territory, Baltistan, Gilgit, Jammu, the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh.
Former provinces
1901–1955 1970–2010 Flag of North-West Frontier Province A traditional green flag, with the provincial emblem in the centre. The emblem shows a castle and a crescent moon. Underneath it are the letters NWFP – an abbreviation of the province.
2011–2018 Flag of Federally Administered Tribal Areas A traditional green flag, with the provincial emblem in the centre. The emblem shows a castle and two swords. Underneath it are the letters FATA – an abbreviation of the province.

City flags

Flag Date Use Description
?–present Flag of Karachi
?–present Flag of Lahore
?–present Flag of Faisalabad
?–present Flag of Hyderabad
?–present Flag of Peshawar
?–present Flag of Quetta
?–present Flag of Islamabad
?–present Flag of Sargodha

Military

Flag Date Use Description
?–present Flag of the Pakistan Armed Forces
?–present Flag of the Pakistan Army A version of the flag of Pakistan, with the Army's badge
?–present Ensign of the Pakistan Air Force A light blue ensign with the flag of Pakistan in the canton, and the Air Force's roundel
?–present Naval jack of the Pakistan Navy The Navy's badge on a blue field
?–present Standard of the Pakistan Navy The Navy's badge defaced on the national flag
?–present Ensign of the Pakistan Navy National flag, but with ratio: 1:2
?–present Flag of the Pakistan Coast Guards
2025–present Standard of the chief of defence forces Trimmed with green, white, red, yellow, dark blue, and light blue intermingled fringe; the national flag with which it is displayed has green and white intermingled fringe.
?–present Flag of the chief of the army staff

Air Force rank flags

Flag Date Use Description
?–present Flag of the air marshal
?–present Flag of the vice air marshal
Flag Date Use Description
?–present Flag of the admiral of the fleet
?–present Flag of the admiral
?–present Flag of the vice-admiral
?–present Flag of the rear-admiral
?–present Flag of the commodore
?–present Flag of the senior officer afloat

Manoeuvre corps

Flag Date Use Description
?–present Flag of the I Corps A horizontal triband of red, white, and red with a diagonal yellow lightning bolt at the centre.
?–present Flag of the IV Corps
?–present Flag of the X Corps
?–present Flag of the V Corps
?–present Flag of the XI Corps A horizontal triband of red, white, and red with a black triangle in the middle, itself containing a red circle in its centre.

Others

Flag Date Use Description
?–present Flag of the Army Air Defence Command A horizontal bicolour of black and yellow with a symbol on the middle.
?–present Flag of the Northern Light Infantry Regiment

Historical flags

Pre-colonial states

Flag Date Use Description
Mid-4th century BC – 321 BC Flag of the Nanda Empire (reconstructed) An orange and blue Nanda standard with an ashoka chakra being centred.
321 BC – 185 BC Flag of the Mauryan Empire (reconstructed) An orange-white-brown standard with a swastika being centred
30–375 Flag of the Kushan Empire (reconstructed) A green-white standard with a different variant of trishula being centred.
240–750 Flag of the Gupta Empire An orange standard with a dharmachakra being centred.
711–750 Flag of the Umayyad Caliphate The white Umayyad standard.
750–945 Flag of the Abbasid Caliphate The black Abbasid banner.
1269–1596 Flag of the Delhi Sultanate according to the Catalan Atlas (1375) A dark grey flag with a black strip to the hoist of centre.
1510–1524 Flag of the Safavid dynasty A plain green flag with a yellow circle on the top.
1524–1576 According to Encyclopedia Britannica.
1729–1736
1526–1858 Flags of the Mughal Empire Mughal Empire flag that was primarily moss green with a sun (Alam)
1526–1858 Mughal Empire Alam that was primarily moss green with a Sun and Lion.
1674–1740 Flags of the Maratha Empire
(Bhagwa Dhwaj)		 Saffron-coloured, with a swallowtail fly.
1740–1818 An ashokachakra was added to the Bhagwa Dhwaj.
Flag of the Hotak dynasty
1716–1799 Flag of the Sikh Confederacy
Flag of Afsharid Iran The standard of Nader Shah.
1783–1856 Flag of the Omani Empire in Gwadar A white field with red Arabic script below a red sword pointed to the right.
1799–1849 Flag of the Sikh Empire (Nishan Sahib)
1818–1842 Flag of the Durrani Empire A horizontal triband of green, white, and green.
1856–1958 Flag of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman in Gwadar A simple red field.
1880–1882 Flag of the Emirate of Afghanistan The standard of Abdur Rahman Khan.

British India

Flag Date Use Description
1858–1947 The official state flag of the British Empire for use in India The flag of the United Kingdom.
1885–1947 Flag of the viceroy of India The Union Jack with the insignia of the Order of the Star of India beneath the Imperial Crown of India.
1880–1947 Flag of the British Raj: A civilian flag used to represent British India internationally. A Red Ensign with the Union Flag at the canton, and the Star of India displayed in the fly.

Princely states of Pakistan

Flag Date Use Description
1666–1955 Flag of the Khanate of Kalat
1853–1955 Flag of the State of Khairpur
1748–1955 Flag of the State of Bahawalpur
?–1947 Flag of the State of Chitral
1849–1969 Flag of the State of Swat
?–1974 Flag of the State of Hunza
1507–1971 Flag of the Kingdom of Amb
?–1969 Flag of the State of Dir
1742–1955 Flag of the State of Las Bela
1697–1955 Flag of the State of Kharan

Political flags

Political parties: former and current

Flag Date Use Description
Active
1996–present Flag of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf A horizontal bicolour of green and red, with a star and crescent on the middle.
1993–present Flag of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) A plain green flag with a white crescent and star at the fly and a tiger at the hoist, facing the crescent.
1967–present Flag of the Pakistan People's Party A vertical tricolour of red, black, and green, with a white crescent and star in the black stripe.
2002–present Flag of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal A plain white flag with a dark green crescent in the centre. The takbir is written in the crescent and the Urdu name of the party is written below it.
2016–present Flag of Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan A vertical tricolour consisting of a red stripe, a narrower green stripe, and the remainder – about half the length – in white.
2002–present Flag of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) A plain green flag with a white crescent and star in the centre.
1986–present Flag of the Awami National Party A plain red flag with the white text "ANP" in the centre.
1996–present Flag of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party A vertical tricolour of orange-red, white, and green, with an orange-red star in the centre.
2003–present Flag of the National Party A vertical bicolour of 1/3 green and 2/3 red. There are four stars on the four corners of the red field.
1996–present Flag of the Balochistan National Party A horizontal tricolour of red, yellow, and green.
2018–present Flag of the Balochistan Awami Party A vertical triband of green, white, and green, with a green crescent and star in the centre.
2018–2025 Flag of the Grand Democratic Alliance A white star on a green field, with a white side.
2025–present A white star on a green field.
2008–present Flag of the Awami Muslim League Pakistan A plain green flag with a white crescent and star in the centre and a small "AML" on the bottom fly.
1990–present Flag of the Jamhoori Wattan Party A horizontal bicolour of red and green, with two white stars on the red and two white stars on the green.
2008–2012 Flag of the Baloch Republican Party A horizontal bicolour of red and green, overlaid by a blue triangle at the hoist containing a white star.
1986–present Flag of Jamiat Ahle Hadith The Shahada on a green field, with a white side.
2015–present Flag of the Pasban-e-Pakistan A red star on a white circle on a red field, with a white side.
2012–present Flag of the Awami Workers Party A white star on a red field, with a white side. The name of the party is written below the star in Urdu.
2018–present Flag of the Barabri Party Pakistan A vertical tricolour of green, yellow (extra wide), and red with a red equals sign in the centre.
1945–present Flag used by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and its branches (Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – (F)) A flag with five horizontal black stripes and four horizontal white stripes.
1996–present Flag of the Jamote Qaumi Movement A vertical tricolour of blue, red, and green, with a white crescent and star in the centre.
1989–present Flag of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek A horizontal tricolour of red, white, and green.
2015–present Flag of Pakistan Justice and Democratic Party A vertical tricolour of red, blue, and green, with a white crescent and star on the green stripe.
1997–present Flag of the Pakistan Peoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto) A vertical tricolour of red, black, and green, with a black fist on a sword on the black section of the flag.
2012–present Flag of Qaumi Watan Party A vertical tricolour of red, black, and white.
2006–present Flag of the Sindh United Party A vertical bicolour of 1/3 white and 2/3 red.
2002–present Flag of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance A vertical tricolour of red, white, and blue.
1970–present Flag of Qaumi Awami Tahreek A vertical triband of red, black, and red, with a white star in the centre of the black band.
2010–present Flag of the Bahawalpur National Awami Party A horizontal tricolour of red, yellow, and green, with a black isosceles trapezium at the hoist containing a white star and crescent.
1992–present Flag of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement – Haqiqi A vertical tricolour of red, green, and white, with the red text مہاجر (Mohajir) being written on the white side which covers half of the flag.
2009–present Flag of the Sunni Ittihad Council
2016–present Flag of Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek A red flag with the name of the party being written in the centre in gold.
2021–present Flag of the National Democratic Movement A vertical bicolour of black and red.
2015–present Flag of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan A plain green flag with لبيك يا رسول اللهﷺ (At your service, O messenger of Allah (SAW)) centred near the top and the name of the party written below in Urdu.
2015–present Election flag of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan A horizontal triband of green, white, and green with a vertical black stripe at the hoist and the black text "TLP" in the white band.
2023–present Flag of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party A green field with a white crescent and star at the fly, with a white-bordered red triangle issuing from the hoist.
2023–present Flag of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians A horizontal triband of green, red, and green, with a small white crescent and star in the centre of the red band.
2024–present Flag of Awaam Pakistan
2026–present Flag of the Pakistan Awaam Raaj Tehreek
1968–present Flag of the Mazdoor Kisan Party Plain red field with a white star in the centre.
1985–present Flag of the Pakistan Christian Congress A vertical tricolour of red, yellow, and green, with a red cross in the yellow band.
1991–present Flag of the Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party A vertical tricolour of blue, white, and orange-red, with an orange-red eight-sided star in the centre.
2002–present Flag of the Pakistan Green Party A horizontal bicolour of yellow and green.
1929–present Flag of Majlis-e Ahrar-e Islam A flag with two vertical sections, the hoist section with six white and six black horizontal stripes, and the fly section with a plain red background with a hoist-facing star and crescent.
2002–present Flag used by the Communist Party of Pakistan and Communist Party of Pakistan (Thaheem) Red banner with a white hammer and sickle in the centre.
2008–present Flag of the Gilgit-Baltistan United Movement A vertical bicolour of red and green, with a swastika on the green section.
1970(?)–present Flag of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference A plain green flag with a white crescent in the centre and below it is an ideological expression written in diacritics: کشِمیَر بنے گا پاَکستان (Kashmir will become part of Pakistan).
2012–present Flag of Islami Tehreek Pakistan A black field with a red vertical stripe at the hoist. On the black field, the takbir is written in the shape of a khamsa at the top, and written below it is the name of the party in Urdu.
1990–present Flag of the Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party A diagonal bicolour of green and red, with a white chinar leaf in the centre.
1990–present Flag of Pakistan Peoples Party Workers
1985–present Flag of Pakistan Muslim League (F)
1985–1988 Flag of Rah-e-Haq A green field with a white crescent and star, with a vertical stripe at the hoist made of nine alternating horizontal stripes of black and white.
2012–present Flag of Pakistan Rah-e-Haq Party
Former
1906–1947 Flag of the All-India Muslim League A plain green flag with a white crescent and star in the centre.
1930–1970s Flag of the Sindh Hari Committee A plain red flag with a sickle and star symbol.
1931–1970s Flag of the Khaksar movement A modified Ottoman flag on a red background with a white crescent and star in the upper hoist. The star is dividing the flag into four sections and the numbers ۱۳ (13) and ۷۰ (70) are written on two sections and اخوت (Brotherhood) is written (with diacritics) on the fly section.
1950–1971 Flag of the All Pakistan Awami League A vertical bicolour of 1/3 white and 2/3 green with four white stars on the four corners of the green side.
1953–1957 Flag of the Ganatantri Dal A horizontal bicolour of red and blue.
1970–2012 Flag of Tehreek-e-Istiqlal A horizontal triband of blue, red, and blue.
1979–2000 Flag of Tehreek-e-Jafaria A horizontal tricolour of black, red, and green.
1986–2013 Flag of the National People's Party A horizontal tricolour of green, white, and red, with four red stars in the white stripe.
1988–1990 Flag of the Islami Jamhuri Ittihad A green flag with nine white stars arranged in a square grid.
1989–2017 Flag of Sindh National Front
1990–2010s Flag of the Pakistan Hindu Party A plain Saffron flag.
1995–2015 Flag of the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party A plain red flag with a white hammer and sickle in the middle and the golden text "CMKP" written below.
1997–2004 Flag of the Millat Party A diagonal bicolour of red and green, with a white crescent and star in the centre.
2010–2012 Flag of the Workers Party Pakistan A red flag with four white stars along the top.
2012–2015 Flag of the Awami Jamhuri Ittehad Pakistan A horizontal bicolour of green and white, with the white text "AJIP" in the upper band.
2016–2023 Flag of the Pak Sarzameen Party [citation needed] A vertical tricolour of primarily red towards the fly and green and blue at the hoist.
2018–2023 Flag of the Awami Raj Party A horizontal tricolour of white, green, and yellow, with a white crescent and star in the centre.
2018–2023 Flag of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Gulalai) A vertical bicolour of red and white, with a white crescent and star in the red band.

Opposition/rebel flags

Flag Date Use Description
2007–present Flags of the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan A plain white field with the full Shahada written in black across the top; below, the name of the party in Urdu is written with diacritics in black along with a black sword below it.
A inverted variant of the flag of the Islamic State, a plain white flag with the black text لا إله إلا الله (There is no God but Allah), with a black circle below it containing the white text محمد رسول الله (Muhammad is the messenger of Allah).
1992–present Flag of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi A black field with a white circle in the centre.
2004–present Flag of Lashkar-e-Islam A plain black field with the name of the organisation in Urdu written in white in the centre.
1996–2025 Flag of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi A flag divided into two sections. The top part has three white and three black horizontal stripes. The lower section of the flag is a plain red field with فقاتلو لمتہ الکفر (Fight the leaders of disbelief), from Surah at-Tawbah, verse 12, written in white and a sword below in the centre.
?–present

[needs update]

 Flag of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan A flag with five horizontal black stripes and four horizontal white stripes in the top hoist and a plain red section in the lower hoist; the rest is a green field with a crescent moon and a star that has محّمدرسولﷲﷺ (Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, Peace be upon him) written in the centre. Written in the rays of the star are:

ابوبکر صدیق رضی الله تعالیٰ عنه, عمر فاروق رضی الله تعالیٰ عنه, عثمان غنی رضي الله تعالیٰ عنه, علی المرتضیٰ رضي الله تعالیٰ عنه, امیر معاویہ رضی الله تعالیٰ عنه

1997–present Flag of the Turkistan Islamic Party A blue flag with the Shahada in white and a white crescent and star below it.
2000s–present Flag used by rebels groups in Pakistan including: Islamic State – Khorasan Province, Jundallah (Pakistan), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan A plain black flag with the white text لا إله إلا الله (There is no God but Allah), with a white circle below it containing the black text محمد رسول الله (Muhammad is the messenger of Allah).
1988–present Flag used by rebel groups including: al-Qaeda, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan A plain black flag with the Shahada written in white on it.
2000s–present Flag of various Balochi separatist groups including: Balochistan Liberation Army, Baluch Liberation Front, Lashkar-e-Balochistan, Baloch Nationalist Army A horizontal bicolour of green and red, overlaid by a blue triangle at the hoist containing a white star.
Flag of various Sindhi separatist groups including: Sindhudesh Liberation Army, Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army A plain red flag with a white disc in the centre, with a black hand holding a black axe inside the disc.

Flag proposals

National flag proposals

Flag Date Use Description
1940 Choudhry Rahmat Ali's proposed flag for a 'Pak Commonwealth of Nations' A plain green field with a small white crescent in the upper hoist and ten white stars on the fly and bottom, in a grid formation.
1942 "The Millat of Islam and the menace of 'Indianism'", a pamphlet by Choudhry Rahmat Ali A plain green field with a thin white crescent at the hoist and a ring of five white stars in the fly.
1947 Lord Mountbatten's proposed flag for Pakistan The flag of the All-India Muslim League with a small Union Jack in the canton.

Provincial and territorial proposals

Flag Date Use Description
September 19, 2004 Proposed and unofficial flag of the Islamabad Capital Territory by Dr. Tariq Saleem Marwat A diagonal tricolour. A triangle of green in the upper fly half, containing a white star and crescent; a stripe of white followed by black in the lower hoist half.

The diagonal design differentiates it from the national flag. The square shape makes the triangles symmetric. Black is added to give it a distinct look. Black was the colour used for the flag at the time of Muhammad's conquest of Mecca.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Azad Kashmir (Pakistan)". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  2. ↑ Kadam, Vasant S. (1993), Maratha Confederacy: A Study in Its Origin and Development, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, p. 128, ISBN 978-81-215-0570-3
  3. ↑ "Nishan Sahib Khanda Sikh Symbols Sikh Museum History Heritage Sikhs". www.sikhmuseum.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  4. ↑ Dipesh Navsaria (27 July 1996). "Indian Flag Proposals". Flags of the World. Retrieved 14 March 2020.