Flag of Azad Kashmir

The flag of Azad Kashmir (Urdu: پرچمِ آزاد کشمیر), officially the state flag of Azad Jammu and Kashmir,^[3] is a civil and state flag representing the Pakistani-administered territory of Azad Kashmir. It features a green background, four horizontal white stripes alternating with green, a star and crescent on the upper fly, and a gold canton on the upper hoist.^[4]

Azad Kashmir

Use	Civil and state flag
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	24 September 1975[1]
Design	Green background with four white stripes; a gold canton on the hoist and a star and crescent on the fly
Designed by	Abdul 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 in 1948 by Abdul Haq Mirza, a mujahid working at the Rawalpindi headquarters of the Azad Kashmir rebellion, as the "Kashmir Liberation Flag". Mirza also created the formation signs of the Kashmir Liberation Force.^[2][5]

The Azad Kashmir flag is a key symbol of identity for Azad-Kashmiris at home and in the Azad Kashmiri diaspora.^[6] It has also been associated with the Kashmir conflict.^[7][8]

Design

The flag symbolises various aspects of the state.^[9] 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]

See also

• Watan Hamara Azad Kashmir
• Flag of Jammu and Kashmir
• National flag of Pakistan
• List of Pakistani flags