flag of Pakistan

Muslim nationalism in British-ruled India emerged during the Independence Movement in the early 1900s, with many Indian Muslims favoring the creation of a new state where they would be the majority. The All India Muslim League was founded in 1906 to safeguard Muslim interests and this goal later expanded into a desire for self-determination. At the Muslim League’s first meeting, held on December 30, 1906, in what is today Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), they approved the Muslim League flag. Its green background and white star and crescent symbol were widely recognized as Islamic emblems. The star and crescent, adopted by Muslim states from earlier usage, today provide a striking Islamic symbol frequently found on flags, on buildings, and in the visual arts.

At midnight on August 14–15, 1947, Pakistan became independent from India under a national flag that differed from that of the Muslim League only in having a white vertical stripe at the hoist. It was explained that white represented all the colors in the spectrum and therefore appropriately stood for all minority religious groups in the country. Green and white were further seen as symbols of prosperity and peace; the crescent was referred to as a symbol of progress; and the star was called an emblem of knowledge and light. The flag is invoked in the Qaumi Tarana, Pakistan’s national anthem. No change was made in the flag when Pakistan became a republic in 1956, nor when the eastern half of the country separated in 1972 to become Bangladesh.