Last modified: 2021-01-09 by ian macdonald
Keywords: pakistan |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
See also:
The flags shown in the first section below appear to be related to the Party Sipâh-e-Sâhaba flag, although they are increasingly different from the flag reported by Michel Lupant on our page on the Party Sipâh-e-Sâhaba:
In a recent TV report about a demonstration in Pakistan
against US intervention in Afghanistan, I spotted a flag which I have
been unable to find in FOTW. It is somewhat reminiscent of that of
Jammu and Kashmir, but certainly different. It shows a green field with
white crescent and star pointing to the bottom fly, with a canton made
of seven (perhaps only five) stripes blue-white and the remaining half
of the hoist (i.e., beneath the canton) red. The
star is somewhat elaborate. I am in doubt as to the proportions of the
flag, looking at the image I would think it was 1:2 rather than 2:3,
but I seem to recall the hoist defacements certainly looked like two
square areas as in my image,
Santiago Dotor, 19 September 2001
This flag has been reported before as a flag used in
Pakistani-occupied Kashmir, perhaps even the flag of the Pakistani
Kashmir. I'm not aware of any connection with the Taliban or Bin
Laden's group.
Jorge Candeias, 19 September 2001
I believe the contributor is comparing this flag to that of
the Azad Kashmir.
It is in fact quite different from the Azad
Kashmir flag.
Santiago Dotor, 20 September 2001
I've seen today this flag in the reports about demonstrations
in Peshawar. It appeared here and there in the middle of a sea of
Jamiat e Islami flags. I was
paying close attention this time, and I came to a couple of conclusions
somewhat different to Santiago's. For one, I'm almost positive that the
stripes in the canton are white and black instead of blue and white.
And then, it seemed to me that the "star" is curved rather than
angular, sort of flower-like.
I do agree with Santiago's assertions about sizes and ratios. The red
and black and white areas at the hoist are positively square, leaving
another,
larger, square at the hoist. The crescent, though, was placed as in the
Pakistani flag, pointing 45º up and toward the fly, and the
whole
crescent+"flower" device seemed to me a lot larger than in Santiago's
image.
Jorge Candeias, 28 September 2001
I also saw those images with several similar flags. I still
have the impression that the stripes are dark blue, but not so dark as
to be mistaken with black. I also agree about the orientation of the
emblem, with respect to the recent TV images. However I am very sure
that the first one I saw days ago had the emblem pointing to lower fly,
as in my image. Most probably these flags do not have specifications,
so that different handed- and industry-made versions co-exist. I
believe the key elements to clear up would be the colour of the canton
stripes and the orientation of the central emblem.
Santiago Dotor, 1 October 2001
I've seen this flag often, but never long and close enough to
get a good look of the symbol. Until just now. I just saw in one of our
channels' late night news a flag being waved in front of the camera and
the symbol was very clear. And the conclusions are:
- The number of "points" is indeed 5. There's no doubt left about it;
- The "star" is not really a star, but quite flower-like instead;
- The shape of each point/petal is semicircular;
- The depressions are pointed
Of course, there's the possibility that this is simply a variation. But
I'm absolutely positive that in that specific flag these were the
characteristics of the symbol. It looked pretty professionally-made -
no amateur stitching or painting.
Jorge Candeias, 15 October 2001
by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán
This flag seems to be a variant of UFE 1 - it was seen on the
TV news in Mexico. Black and white stripes over an orange square, the
rest is green.
Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, 13 October
2001
by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán
Another version lacks the red-orange square.
Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, 13 October
2001
This is probably a politically charged flag of Pakistani
Islamists. It is a nearly square version of the flag of Pakistan, with
a golden/yellow fringe and something written in yellow Arabic text
below the crescent and star. The text is in the normal letters we see
in Arabic websites and newspapers: longer than higher.
Jorge Candeias, 21 September 2001
This flag was seen accompanying the UFE 2 described
above. It is a "normal" flag of Pakistan, except that the
crescent and star was slightly shifted to the bottom, and a white text
written above. The letters here were very similar to the shahada as we
see it in the Saudi and Taliban flags, so I guess it was the shahada.
Jorge Candeias, 21 September 2001
One would need images to comment. Note also that Urdu and
Farsi (and other local languages) are also written in Arabic script, so
the writing on the flags might not be in the Arabic language.
Al Kirsch, 21 September 2001
Yet another Pakistani UFE spotted on TV images of
anti-American demonstrations in that country. This one came in large
numbers, so there's no doubt about the design: black with a white disc
centered. Proportions seemed to be perhaps somewhat larger than 2:3,
but since I'm not sure about that, I made my image with standard
proportions.
It seems that the colours of the various groups that support the
Taliban are basically black and white, but that the designs of their
flags vary quite a bit from group to group (or from demonstration to
demonstration?)
Jorge Candeias, 23 September 2001
I saw several flags like this, in the TV images of the big
anti-government & anti-USA demonstration in Karachi (Pakistan).
A plain black background with a centered big white circle. It was mixed
with the black & white striped flags already commented. The
protest was conducted by the religious movement Jamiat Ulama'a e Islam. at
prayer day. I don't know the exact meaning of this flag.
Santiago Tazon, 14 October 2001
I come to the conclusion given the historical context of the entry in a time
where ISIS (established in 1999) was starting to
emerge and anti-US protests in the region were becoming often, especially after
the US invasion of Afghanistan in October, 2001.
Esteban Rivera, 31
December 2020
Another Pakistani political UFE,
spotted on TV images yesterday.
This time the demonstration was pro-governmental (and therefore
pro-western). The flag was white with two narrow bars at the hoist, red
and green.
Jorge Candeias, 27 September 2001
This flag is very similar to the Muttahida Quami Movement flag, but with different dimensions.
by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán
Seen on the TV news in Mexico - this flag has green and white
stripes; other flags seen were black and white, that of Jamiat Ulama'a e Islam.
Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán 13 October 2001
In a news report about the banning of Islamist parties and
movements in Pakistan, I saw today a flag I couldn't identify. It was
shot from afar and from a bad perspective, being hoisted in the top of
a 3 or 4-stories building and shot from the street, so the description
that follows is perhaps not very accurate. The flag looked 2:3,
consisting of two horizontal areas, the top two-thirds white and the
bottom third striped in vertical black and white stripes. I'm not sure
how many stripes, but it I think there were 7 - 4 black and 3 white
(there could have also been 9, though).
Jorge Candeias, 13 January 2002
Seen along the road between Islamabad and Peshawar in January
2003. Like the Pakistani national flag, but with the white stripe at
the hoist narrower and separated from the hoist by a green stripe of
about the same width.
Joe McMillan, 2 February 2003
I wonder if this is a variant of the flag of Jamiat al Islami or any
related organization. The hoist is blue and fly green, but variants
have been described from students, where the hoist was green and fly
blue (always with white band between them) and perhaps there are even
more variations.
Jaume Ollé, 2 February 2003
Seen along the road between Islamabad and Peshawar in January
2003. Black with four vertical white stripes, possibly just a vertical
version of the
JUI flag I posted earlier.
Joe McMillan, 2 February 2003
I have photos of a flag with 5 black vertical bands, but they
don't reach the upper border. They stop before it and in the upper
white part is a shahada and sword (shahada above and sword
below). Also there is the flag of
El Jihad Tanzim with
three vertical bands at hoist side. The fly part is white containing a
black disk and within a white Arabic inscription.
Jaume Ollé, 2 February 2003
Seen along the road between Islamabad and Peshawar in January
2003. Black with white crescent and star and a red stripe at the hoist.
Joe McMillan, 2 February 2003
Might be the PPP
flag. Sometimes the dark green is confused with black in the
distance.
Jaume Ollé, 2 February 2003
Seen along the road between Islamabad and Peshawar in January
2003. Red with a white disk on the center.
Joe McMillan, 2 February 2003
Seen along the road between Islamabad and Peshawar in January
2003. Green with a white star on the center and a red stripe at the
hoist.
Joe McMillan, 2 February 2003
image located by Eric Farnsworth
In the New York Times, Sunday February 17 2008 issue, is a
picture of a flag accompanying an article by Jane Perlez titled "Fears
of More Violence as Pakistani Election Nears". The photo is credited to
Max Becherer/Polaris, for the New York Times, and is captioned "Hired
gunmen walk past the Chaudhry family residence in Gujrat, Pakistan on
Friday."
Do you have any idea whose flag this is (presumably the Chaudhry
family), and what that bicycle is doing on it? My wife said she
recalled reading something that suggested that bicycle imagery was used
during the British occupation of India as a symbol somehow denoting
imperialism. I would be most grateful for any information you can find
about this flag.
Eric Farnsworth, 2 March 2008
I can make a guess - because of the multilingual nature of
both India and Pakistan, different political parties use graphic
symbols to represent their party names - they are featured on ballot
papers, for instance. Muharraf's party, the Pakistan Muslim League Q,
uses a bicycle as its symbol. See:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080215/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanvotepartiesmusharraf_080215081428
James Dignan, 2 March 2008
image located by Bill Garrison, 24 December 2010
image located by Bill Garrison, 24 December 2010
image located by Bill Garrison, 24 December 2010
I am guessing this might the flag of the National Trade Union Federation, as
proclaimed on the banner?
Rob Raeside, 24 December 2010