![]() | It has been suggested that Afghan rebel flags be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since November 2023. |
This is a list of flags associated with Afghanistan.
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
De facto (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) | |||
![]() | 15 August 2021–present | ||
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De jure (Islamic Republic of Afghanistan) | |||
![]() | 19 August 2013–present | National flag | Three vertical bands of black, red and green with the National Emblem in white centered on the red band and then slightly overlapping the black and green bands. |
![]() | National flag (variant) |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
former | |||
![]() | 2004–2021 | A black flag with a red circle with a white contour drawing of the national emblem in 2004 version. | |
![]() | 2004 | A black flag with a red circle with a white contour drawing of the national emblem in 1990s version. | |
![]() | 1974–1978 | Standard of the President of Afghanistan under Mohammad Daoud Khan. | A red flag with a black circle with a red drawing of the national emblem. |
![]() ![]() | 1933–1973 | Standard of the King of Afghanistan under Mohammad Zahir Shah (obverse and reverse). | National emblem on a red background on the obverse and royal tughra on the reverse. |
![]() ![]() | 1931–1933 | Standard of the King of Afghanistan under Mohammad Nadir Shah (obverse and reverse). | |
![]() ![]() | 1926–1929 | Standard of the King of Afghanistan under Amanullah Khan (obverse and reverse). | Amanullah Khan's emblem on a red background on the obverse and royal tughra on the reverse. The emblem consists of two crossed swords, a headdress called kolah and a star, and all these elements were removed from the national emblem around the coronation of Amarullah as the first king of Afghanistan. |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
former | |||
![]() | 2003 | Flag of the 2003 loya jirga. | White flag with emblem. In the green border there are three silhouettes of human heads, turned to the right and imitating the Afghan national colors. Above the profiles is the Arabic Shahada in black, while below is an open book. The profiles are surrounded by a wreath of wheat ears taken from the national emblem. |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2021-present | Flag of the Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan | White flag with the emblem of the Ministry of Defense. |
former | |||
![]() | ?–2021 | Flag of the Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan | Red flag with the emblem of the Ministry of Defense in a monochrome gold version. |
![]() | 2015–2021 | Flag of the Resolute Support Mission | A green flag with the official mission logo. |
![]() ![]() | 2001–2014 | Flags of the International Security Assistance Force |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2021-present | Flag of the Afghan Army | |
former | |||
![]() | 1987–1992 | Flag of the Afghan Army | |
![]() | 1974–1980 | ||
![]() | c. 1961—? | ||
![]() | ?–1973 | ||
![]() | 1920s | ||
Corps | |||
![]() | 2007–2021 | Flag of the Afghan National Army Commando Corps | |
![]() | ?–2021 | Flag of the 209th Corps | |
![]() | Flag of the 205th Corps | ||
![]() | Flag of the 207th Corps |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2021-present | Flag of the Afghan Air Force [1] | |
former | |||
![]() | 2010–2021 | Flag of the Afghan Air Force |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2021–present | ||
former | |||
![]() | 2001–2021 | Flag of the Afghan National Police |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2021–present | Flag of the Customs service of Afghanistan | |
former | |||
![]() | ?–2021 | Flag of the Customs service of Afghanistan |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2021–present | Flag of the Ministry of Education | |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2021–present | Flag of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum [4] |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2021–present | Flag of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing [5] | |
Former | |||
![]() | ?–2021 | Flag of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing [6] |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2021–present | Flag of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock [7] | |
Former | |||
![]() | ?–2021 | Flag of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock [8] |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2021–present |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2021–present | Flag of the Ministry of Public Health [10] |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2021–present? | A white flag with the national flag, the inscription "Afghanistan" and the Olympic rings. | |
former | |||
![]() | ?–2021 | Flag of the National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan | A white flag with the Olympic rings and inscription "National Olympic Committee of Afghanistan". |
![]() | 1930s | Flag of the National Olympic Committee of the Kingdom of Afghanistan | A flag of unknown colors used at the Berlin Olympics contains a kolah and Olympic rings. |
Flag | Date | Regime | Description |
---|---|---|---|
National flags | |||
![]() | 2002–2004 | ||
![]() | 2002 | ||
![]() | 2001–2002 | ||
![]() | 1997–2001 | Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (variant) | |
![]() | 1996–1997 | ||
![]() | 1992–2001 | ||
![]() ![]() | 1992 | ||
![]() | 1987–1992 | ||
![]() | 1980–1987 | ||
![]() | 1978–1980 | ||
![]() | 1978 | ||
![]() | 1974–1978 | ||
![]() | 1973–1974 | ||
![]() | 1931–1973 | ||
![]() | 1929–1930 | ||
![]() | 1929 | ||
![]() | |||
![]() | 1929–1931 | Emirate of Afghanistan, used in Herat | |
![]() | 1929 | ||
![]() | 1929 and 1926–1928 | ||
![]() ![]() ![]() | 1928-1929 | Kingdom of Afghanistan (possible appearance) | |
![]() | 1928 | ||
![]() | 1921–1926/29 | ||
![]() | 1919–1921 | ||
![]() | 1901–1919 | ||
![]() | 1880–1901 1818–1855 1709–1738 | ||
![]() | 1856–1919 | Flag of the United Kingdom used to represent the Emirate of Afghanistan abroad | |
Local national flags | |||
![]() | 1991 1996 | ||
![]() | 1818–1842 | ||
![]() | 1830s | ||
Other | |||
![]() | c. 1842 | Pashtun banner captured at Jellalabad | An example of a Pashtun tribal battle flag. Red triangular banner with Shahada and green frame, woven red and yellow fringes were also present on the edges. [11] |
![]() | c. 1839 | Pashtun banner captured at Ghazni |
Flag | Date | Party | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2005–present | Green field with yellow Arabic calligraphy arranged in an arc. The inscription "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful". Under the arc is also the name of the organization written in white. | |
![]() | 2004–present | Red flag with a yellow star in the canton. | |
![]() | 2004–present | ||
Link to file | 2003–present | Party emblem on blue background. | |
![]() | 1997–present | Party emblem on blue background. | |
Link to file | 1992–present | National flag from 1974-1978 with the party emblem instead of the national emblem. | |
![]() | 1989–present | Party emblem on blue background. | |
![]() | 1979–present | A black flag with a gold emblem in the canton. The emblem consists of crossed swords, a wreath of wheat and Takbir. | |
Link to file | 1973–present | A red flag with three raised hands, holding a hammer, a sickle and a gun respectively. | |
![]() | 1972–present | Green flag with a white emblem. | |
![]() | 1976–present | Green flag with a white emblem. The emblem contains many symbols of the national emblem, to which the open Quran adds. There is also Shahada under the emblem. | |
former | |||
![]() | 1975–1979 | Green flag with a white emblem. The emblem contains many symbols of the national emblem, to which the open Quran adds. | |
![]() ![]() | 1965–1992 | Red flag with gold party emblem in the canton. The emblem consists of an ear of wheat superimposed on a gear wheel. The emblem consists of an ear of wheat placed on a gear wheel, symbolizing farmers and workers. Another variant of the party's flag served for a short time as the national flag. | |
![]() | 1965–1992 | Democratic Youth Organisation of Afghanistan, youth wing of the PDPA. | A red flag with the emblem moved towards the mast. The emblem consisted of PDPA symbols, a clenched fist, schematic mountains and a red star. |
This table does not include flags derived from rebels that became national flags. Such cases occurred once during the Saqqawists period in 1929 and twice in connection with the Taliban takeovers in 1996 and 2021.
Flag | Date | Group | Description |
---|---|---|---|
current | |||
![]() | 2022–Present | Red-blue-green tricolor with the white crescent moon and a star on a blue stripe. The star and crescent resembles the Kokbayraq flag. | |
![]() | 2021–Present | National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, used together with the flags of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Islamic State of Afghanistan [14] [15] | A variant of the 1990s of the national flag used by Northern Alliance. |
![]() | 2021-present | The front announced its existence in October 2021. It operates mainly in the provinces of Maidan Wardak and Ghazni. It is composed exclusively of Hazaras, both ex-military and civilians. A spokesman for the front announced in a video released in October that the group's goal is to fight the Taliban and the ISKP throughout Hazarajat. [16] | |
![]() | 2015–Present | Variant of the Jihadist flag used in Afghanistan by Islamic State – Khorasan Province [17] [18] [19] [20] and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (splinter faction) | The flag consists of the Black Standard with a white text of the Shahada emblazoned across it in depicts the second phrase of the shahada in the form of a depiction of the supposedly historical seal of Muhammad. [21] |
![]() | 2014–present | Two-color white and blue flag divided into 1/3 of its length with a wavy pattern | |
![]() | 2006–Present | ||
![]() | 1996–present | The flag is divided into two horizontal sections, where the upper section consists of six equal horizontal black and white stripes. The lower section is red and has a black and white Arabic inscription "We will destroy the infidels". Below the writing is a stylized sword. | |
![]() | 1988–present | White text of the Shahada above a white crescent moon and a star on a blue background. The star and crescent comes from the Kokbayraq flag, while the Shahada symbolizes Islam. | |
![]() | 1979–Present | Variant of the Jihadist flag used in Afghanistan by :
| The flag consists of the Black Standard with a white text of the Shahada emblazoned across it in calligraphy style writing. |
former | |||
Link to file | 1987–1989 | ||
![]() | 1979 | Flag associated with the Herat insurgents in 1979. | A green flag with white Takbir inscription. |
![]() | 1916–1934 | Flag of the Basmachi movement. |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | 2014 | Yellow-red-violet tricolor with the inscription "new Khorosan". | |
![]() | 1970s | Flag used in Nuristan in the 1970s, it is not known if it was an ethnic or political flag. | A white and red flag with stripes separated by a tenfold triangular wave. |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | 1934–present | Flags of the Afghan Red Crescent Society | Red Crescent surrounded by the association's names written in black in Pashto at the top and Dari at the bottom. |
![]() | |||
![]() | 1935 | Rejected red Mehrab-e-Ahmar project to replace the red crescent [26] | A red mosque similar to the national emblem on a white background |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | 1965–present | Flag of Ariana Afghan Airlines | The flag features a blue Afghan swallow bird from logo on white field. Blue representing precious lapis lazuli stones. [27] |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | ?–present | Flag of Da Afghanistan Bank [28] |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | 2013–present | ||
![]() | 1947–present | ||
![]() | ?–present | Flag of Pashayi people |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | early 19th century | Flags from the Afghanistan Military school at the time of Amir Habibullah Khan |
Flag | Date | Use | Description |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | 1980s–present | A flag representing the Hazaras in pan-Turkish concepts. [34] | A blue flag with a gold symbol found on Hephthalites and Kushan coins. Blue is the traditional color of steppe nomads, it means the blue sky of the god Tengri. This has no direct connection with the Hazaras, but it connects Turks and Mongols. |
![]() | 1969–present | Attributed flag of Ghaznavids, designed by Akib Öbek in 1969 as part of concept of 16 Great Turkic Empires | Green glag with a grey crescent in canton and a peacock. It can appear in many artistic variants. [35] |
![]() | ?–present | A fictitious flag of Ghaznavids spread on the Internet | A black field with a golden full moon. |
![]() | 1969–present | Attributed flag of Hephthalites, designed by Akib Öbek in 1969 as part of concept of 16 Great Turkic Empires | White flag with three yellow stars placed vertically in upper hoist. White may refer to the White Huns, which was one of the terms for the Hephthalites. [36] |
![]() | ? | Alleged alternative variant of the flag of Democratic Republic of Afghanistan | National flag from 1978–1980 in green instead of red. [37] |
The Hazaras are an ethnic group and a principal component of the population of Afghanistan. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan and primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan. Hazaras are also as significant minority groups in Pakistan mainly in Quetta and Iran mainly in Mashhad. They speak the Dari and Hazaragi dialects of Persian. Dari, also known as Dari Persian, is one of two official languages of Afghanistan.
The Taliban, which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is an Afghan political and militant movement with an ideology comprising elements of Pashtun nationalism and the Deobandi movement of Islamic fundamentalism. It ruled approximately 75% of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, before it was overthrown by an American invasion after the September 11th attacks carried out by the Taliban's ally al-Qaeda. The Taliban recaptured Kabul in August 2021 following the departure of coalition forces, after 20 years of Taliban insurgency, and now controls the entire country. The Taliban government is not recognized by any country and has been internationally condemned for restricting human rights, including women's rights to work and have an education.
The national flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, adopted on 15 August 2021 following the Taliban's victory in the 2001–2021 war, features a white field with a black Shahada inscribed. Since the 20th century, Afghanistan has changed its national flag several times. The national flag had black, red and green colors most of the time during the period.
Abdulrab Rasul Sayyaf is an exiled Afghan politician and former mujahideen commander. He took part in the war against the Marxist–Leninist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) government in the 1980s, leading the Afghan mujahideen faction Ittehad-al-Islami.
The 1996–2001 Afghan Civil War, also known as the Third Afghan Civil War, took place between the Taliban's conquest of Kabul and their establishing of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on 27 September 1996, and the US and UK invasion of Afghanistan on 7 October 2001: a period that was part of the Afghan Civil War that had started in 1989, and also part of the war in Afghanistan that had started in 1978.
The jihadist flag is a flag commonly used by various Islamist and fundamentalist movements as a symbol of jihad. It usually consists of the Black Standard with a white text of the Shahada emblazoned across it in calligraphy style writing. Its usage was widely adopted by Islamist groups and jihadists during the 1990s and early 2000s.
The Hazaras have long been the subjects of persecution in Afghanistan. The Hazaras are mostly from Afghanistan, primarily from the central regions of Afghanistan, known as Hazarajat. Significant communities of Hazara people also live in Quetta, Pakistan and in Mashad, Iran, as part of the Hazara and Afghan diasporas.
The Islamic State – Khorasan Province is a regional branch of the Salafi jihadist group Islamic State (IS) active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan and Pakistan. ISIS–K seeks to destabilize and replace current governments within the historic Khorasan region with the goal of establishing a caliphate across South and Central Asia, governed under a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law, which they plan to expand beyond the region.
Hazara nationalism is a movement that claims the Hazara people, an ethnic group native to the Hazaristan region of Afghanistan, are a distinct nation and deserve a nation-state of their own. The movement propagates the view that Muslims are not a nation and that ethnic loyalty must surpass religious loyalty, though this view has been challenged by both the 1890s independence uprisings of Hazaristan and the systematic discrimination many Hazaras have historically faced within Afghanistan.
The flag of Hazaristan is the national flag of Hazaristan and Hazaras. It was originally proposed by Kamran Mir Hazar on Kabul Press in 2013, and later in 2014 presented on the cover of the anthology Poems for the Hazara. Article 37 of the Hazaristan Charter, released by the Pioneers of the Hazaristan Independence Movement on April 11, 2021, is about the Hazaristan Flag.
The Islamic State–Taliban conflict is an ongoing insurgency by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP) against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The conflict initially began when both operated as rival insurgent groups in Nangarhar; since the formation of the Taliban's state in 2021, IS-KP members have enacted a campaign of terrorism targeting both civilians and assassinating Taliban members using hit-and-run tactics. The group have also caused incidents and attacks across the border in Pakistan.
The Taliban has ruled Afghanistan as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since taking control by force in 2021, overthrowing the internationally recognized Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The takeover was widely criticized by the international community, and no countries have extended de jure diplomatic recognition to the new regime, despite nominally maintaining relations with Afghanistan. The Taliban has campaigned for international recognition since the takeover. Several countries have vowed never to recognize the Islamic Emirate, and others have said they will do so only if human rights in the country are respected. Some countries have accredited Taliban diplomats at the chargé d'affaires level despite not recognizing the Islamic Emirate. In September 2023, the People's Republic of China became the first country to formally name a new ambassador to the country since the takeover, and in January 2024 recognized the Taliban's envoy to China; however, the PRC still does not formally recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
Throughout the history of Afghanistan, there have been many flags used by rebel groups in Afghanistan's various conflicts. This is a list of the Afghan rebel flags flown by various groups throughout the country's history.
The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is a theocracy and an emirate with political power concentrated in the hands of a supreme leader and his clerical advisors, collectively referred to as the Leadership. The Leadership makes all major policy decisions behind closed doors, which are then implemented by the country's civil service and judiciary. As Afghanistan is an Islamic state, governance is based on Sharia law and Pashtunwali, which the Taliban enforces strictly through extensive social and cultural policy.
The war in Afghanistan ended with the Taliban victorious when the United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan. The aftermath has been characterized by marked change in the social and political order of Afghanistan as Taliban took over the country once again after the fall of Kabul in 2021.
Events in the year 2023 in Afghanistan.