The national flag of Pakistan (Urdu: پاکستان کا قومی پرچم, Pākistān kā Qaumī Pārc̱am) was
adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly on
August 11, 1947, just three days before the country's independence, when it
became the official flag of the Dominion of Pakistan.It was afterwards
retained by the current-day Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The flag is a green field
with a white crescent moon and five-rayed star at its center, and a vertical white
stripe at the hoist side. Though the green color is mandated only as 'dark
green',its official and most consistent representation is Pakistan green,
which is shaded distinctively darker. The flag was designed by Amiruddin Kidwai,
and is based on the All-India Muslim League flag.
The flag is referred to in the national anthem as the Flag of the Crescent and Star.
It is flown on several important days of the year including Republic Day and
Independence Day. A designer named Amiruddin Kidwai studied the League’s flag,
as he tried to design a flag for a new, independent nation. Finally he arrived at
a design, and he presented it to the men who would run the new Pakistan government.
The Pakistan government adopted his design on August 11, 1947.
The Pakistan government has pronounced rules about the flying of the Pakistan flag.
The government has called for display of the flag at full mast on March 23 of each
year. That display recognizes both the adoption of the Lahore Resolution in 1940 and
the Declaration of the Republic of Pakistan in 1956. Flag raisers in Pakistan also
make a point of hoisting the flag each year on the fourteenth day of August. That
is considered to be Pakistan’s Independence Day. Pakistan was carved out from
British India as a home to Indian Muslims.
Before the Second World War, Muslims and Hindus lived together under the British Raj.
A number of the Muslims formed the All India Muslim League. After the Second World
War, when the partition of India led to the creation of Dominion of Pakistan, the
flag of the Muslim League served as the basis for the flag of Pakistan.[citation needed]
The green represents Islam and the majority Muslims in Pakistan and the white stripe
represents religious minorities and minority religions.In the centre, the crescent
and star symbolizes progress and light respectively.The flag symbolizes Pakistan's
commitment to Islam and the rights of religious minorities.It is based on the original flag
of the Muslim League, which itself drew inspiration from the flag of the Sultanate of Delhi
and the Flag of the Mughal Empire.
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 size of the white portion is one quarter
the size of the flag, nearest the mast, so the green portion occupies the remaining three quarters.
Dimensions
The Interior Ministry of Pakistan provides dimensions for flags in different circumstances:
For ceremonial occasions. 21' × 14', 18' × 12', 10' × 6⅔' or 9' × 6¼'.
For use over buildings. 6' × 4' or 3' × 2'.
For cars 24" × 16".
For tables 10¼" × 8¼".
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)
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