Pakistan flag: Here's how it came to be

Pakistan’s Independence Day is celebrated every year with religious fervor and absolute patriotism amid renewed pledges and prayers for prosperity of the motherland. Streets across the country are festooned with buntings, banners with a national flag theme, but do you know how did Pakistan flag come into existence and what’s the significance behind its colour and symbols?

Here are some interesting facts about our national flag:

Pakistan’s first Prime Minister Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan presented the national flag in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947.

The national flag has a dark green colour with a white vertical bar on left, alongside a white crescent in the centre and a five-point star.

The flag was designed by Amiruddin Kidwai, and is based on the All-India Muslim League flag. Master Altaf Hussain was the man who stitched first Pakistani flag at the request of Quaid-e-Azam in June 1947.

 

Here’s what the color and symbols in the flag mean:

• The white in the left represents the minorities and the green the Muslim majority.

 

• The crescent on the flag represents progress.

• The five-rayed star represents light and knowledge.

Days when Pakistan flag is flown/hoisted:

Independence Day (August 14)

Pakistan Day (March 23)

Quaid-e-Azam’s birthday (December 25)

Other national days as may be notified by the government.

Moments when the flag flies at half-mast:

Death anniversary of Allama Muhammad Iqbal (April 21)

Death anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam (September 11)

Death anniversary of Liaquat Ali Khan (October 16)

Other days as notified by the government.

It’s pertinent to mention here that it was first adopted in 1906 as the flag of All India Muslim League but without white bar on its left.