Flag of Azad Kashmir

The flag of Azad Kashmir (Urdu: پرچم آزاد کشمیر‎) is a state flag representing the Pakistani-administered territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It features a green background, four horizontal white stripes alternating with green, a star and crescent on the upper fly, and a golden canton on the upper hoist.[3]

Azad Kashmir
UseCivil and state flag
Proportion23:31
Adopted24 September 1975[1]
DesignGreen background with four white stripes; a gold canton on the hoist and a star and crescent on the fly
Designed byAbdul Haq Mirza[2]

History

The flag was adopted on 24 September 1975 via the Azad Jammu and Kashmir State Flag Ordinance, passed by founding President Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan.[1] It was designed by Abdul Haq Mirza, a retired lieutenant-colonel who also created the formation signs of the Azad Kashmir Regular Force.[2]

The flag symbolises various aspects of the state.[4] According to the Azad Kashmir government, the green field represents the region's Muslim majority population; the gold canton represents the religious minorities; the white stripes represent the snow-peaked mountains of the state, and the green stripes alternating with them represent the Valley of Kashmir.[1] The star and crescent is a national icon which also features on Pakistan's flag.[1]

The Azad Kashmir flag is a key symbol of identity for Azad-Kashmiris at home and in the diaspora.[5] It has also been associated with the Kashmir conflict.[6][7]

See also

References
  1. "State Flag". Government of Azad Kashmir. 2003. Archived from the original on 2004-03-04. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  2. Defence and Media. Inter-Services Public Relations. 1991. p. 126.
  3. Minahan, James (2002). Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: D-K. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 955. ISBN 9780313321108.
  4. "Azad Kashmir (Pakistan)". CRW Flags. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  5. Kaur, Raminder; Hutnyk, John (1999). Travel Worlds: Journeys in Contemporary Cultural Politics. Zed Books. p. 123. ISBN 9781856495622.
  6. Human Rights in India: Kashmir Under Siege. Human Rights Watch. 1991. p. 59. ISBN 9780300056143.
  7. Mirza, M. Abdul Haq (1991). The withering chinar. Institute of Policy Studies. p. 176. ISBN 9789694480084.
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