The national flag of Pakistan (Urdu: قومی پرچم, Qaumī Pārc̱am) was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, just four days before the country's independence, when it became the official flag of the Dominion of Pakistan.[1][2][3] 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 centre, and a vertical white stripe at the hoist side. Though the green colour is mandated only as 'dark green',[4] 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.[5]
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, Defence day and also on every morning(when sun shines full) at schools, colleges and offices,raises almost in all working areas with national anthem.And lowered before sunset. 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 14 August. That is considered to be Pakistan’s Independence Day celebration but not the actual date of independence which is August 15, 1947. Pakistan was carved out from British India as a home to Indian Muslims.
The green represents Islam and the majority Muslims in Pakistan and the white stripe represents religious minorities and minority religions.[6]
In the centre, the crescent and star symbolizes progress and light respectively.[6] The flag symbolizes Pakistan's commitment to Islam and the rights of religious minorities.[7] It is based on the original flag of the Muslim League, which itself drew inspiration from the flag of the Sultanate of Delhi, the flag of Ottoman Empire and the Flag of the Mughal Empire.
Design
Diagram of the flag's 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 [A] and width [B] 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 [C] is one quarter the width of the flag [A], nearest the mast, so the green portion occupies the remaining three quarters [D].
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 [B]. With the centre at point P1 and a radius 3⁄10 the height of the flag describe the first circle C1 and with 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 star lies with one point on the diagonal L3 at point P3 where the circle C1 intersects the diagonal L3.
Dimensions
The Interior Ministry of Pakistan provides dimensions for flags in different circumstances:
For ceremonial occasions: 21′ × 14′, 18′ × 12′, 10′ × 6+2⁄3′ or 9′ × 6+1⁄4′.
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.
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 (except in case of distress in country)[9] 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).
The use of the national flag is regulated by the Pakistan Flag Rules, which were introduced in 2002 by Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali. 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.[11][12] The national flag is flown on the official residences and vehicles (cars, boats, planes) of the following public officials:[10]
Commissioners of Divisions, Deputy Commissioners and Political Agents
Y
Milestones
2014 - On 15 February, 29,040 people gathered in a stadium in Lahore 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.[14][15]
2012 - On 22 October, 24,200 people gathered in a stadium in Lahore 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.[16]
2004 - In August, a 340×510 (173,400 square foot) foot flag of Pakistan was unfurled at the National Stadium Karachi, setting the world record for the largest flag.[17][18]
1947 - On the night of August 14, 1947, a group of Indian Boy Scouts were in France when the news reached them that their motherland had become independent. Mohammad Iqbal Qureshi was one of the Muslim boy scouts who with the help of his friends turned a green turban into a Pakistani flag and unfurled it. August 15, 1947 was the first time when the Pakistani flag flew on the foreign soil.
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