List of Afghan flags

This is a list of flags associated with Afghanistan.

National flag

Flag	Date	Use	Description
De facto (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan)
	15 August 2021–present	National flag	The Arabic Shahada in black on a white field in the calligraphic Thuluth script.
			The Arabic Shahada and "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" in Pashto in black on a white field in the calligraphic Thuluth script.
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)

Standards of the head of state

Flag	Date	Use	Description
former
	2004–2021	Standard of the President of Afghanistan under Ashraf Ghani and Hamid Karzai.	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.

Loya Jirga

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.

Military flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
current
Link to file	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	A flags with the official mission logo.

Army

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

Air Force

Flag	Date	Use	Description
current
	2021–present	Flag of the Afghan Air Force [1]
former
	2010–2021	Flag of the Afghan Air Force

Law enforcement

Police

Flag	Date	Use	Description
current
	2021–present	Flag of the Afghan National Police [2] [3]
former
	2001–2021	Flag of the Afghan National Police

Customs Department

Flag	Date	Use	Description
current
Link to file	c 2024–present	Flag of the Afghanistan Customs Department
former
	2021–c 2024	Flag of the Customs service of Afghanistan
	?–2021	Flag of the Customs service of Afghanistan

Supreme Audit Office

Flag	Date	Use	Description
current
	2020–present	Flag of the Supreme Audit Office of Afghanistan

Ministries

Flag	Date	Use	Description
current
Link to file	2021–present	Flag of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock [4]
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Link to file	c 2024–present	Flag of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Afghan Ministry of Economy
	2021–present	Flag of the Ministry of Education [5]
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Afghan Ministry of Energy and Water
Link to file	c 2021–present	Flag of the Ministry of Finance
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Ministry of Borders and Tribal Affairs
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Ministry of Higher Education
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Ministry of Information and Culture
Link to file	c 2021–present	Flag of the Ministry of Justice
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled Affairs
Link to file	2021–present	Flag of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum [6]
Link to file	2021–present	Flag of the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice
Link to file	2021–present	Flag of the Ministry of Public Health [7]
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Ministry of Public Works
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Ministry of Refugee and Repatriation
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation
Link to file	?–present	Flag of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing [8]
Former
	?–2021	Flag of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock [4]
Link to file	?–2024	Flag of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
Link to file	?-2021	Flag of the Ministry of Justice
	?–2021	Flag of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing [8]

Olympic Committee

Flag	Date	Use	Description
current
	2021–present?	Flag of the National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan	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.

Historical flags

Flag	Date	Regime	Description
National flags
	2002–2004	Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Twenty-sixth flag (2002–2004)
	2002		Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Twenty-fifth flag (2002)
	2001–2002	Islamic State of Afghanistan	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Twenty-fourth flag (2001–2002)
	1997–2001	Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (variant)	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Twenty-third flag (1997–2001)
	1996–1997	Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Twenty-second flag (1996–1997)
	1992–2001	Islamic State of Afghanistan	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Twenty-first flag (1992–2002)
	1992		Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Twentieth flag (1992)
	1987–1992	Republic of Afghanistan	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Nineteenth flag (1987–1992)
	1980–1987	Democratic Republic of Afghanistan	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Eighteenth flag (1980–1987)
	1978–1980		Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Seventeenth flag (1978–1980)
	1978		Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Sixteenth flag (1978)
	1974–1978	Republic of Afghanistan	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Fifteenth flag (1974–1978)
	1973–1974		Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Fourteenth flag (1973–1974)
	1931–1973	Kingdom of Afghanistan	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Thirteenth flag (1930–1973))
	1929–1930		Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Twelfth flag (1929–1930)
	1929		Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Eleventh flag (1929)
		Emirate of Afghanistan	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Tenth flag (1929–1931)
	1929–1931	Emirate of Afghanistan, used in Herat	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Tenth flag (1929–1931)
	1929	Kingdom of Afghanistan	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Ninth flag (1929)
	1929 and 1926–1928		Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Fifth flag (1926–1928)
	1928-1929	Kingdom of Afghanistan (possible appearance)	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Seventh flag (1928–1929))
	1928	Kingdom of Afghanistan	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Sixth flag (1928)
	1921–1926/29	Emirate of Afghanistan	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Fourth flag (1921–1926/29)
	1919–1921		Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Third flag (1919–1921/29)
	1901–1919		Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Second flag (1901–1919)
	1880–1901	Emirate of Afghanistan	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Black Standard in central Asia and the first flag
	1818–1855	Principality of Qandahar
	1709–1738	Hotak dynasty
	1856–1919	Flag of the United Kingdom used to represent the Emirate of Afghanistan abroad	Main article: Flag of the United Kingdom
Local national flags
	1996	Islamic Emirate of Badakhshan	Main article: [[:Jihad flag]]
	1991	Islamic Emirate of Kunar
	1818–1842	Emirate of Herat	Main article: Flag of Afghanistan § Herat flag (1818–1842)
	1830s	US flag with 23 stars used by Josiah Harlan as Prince of Ghor .	Main article: Flag of the United States
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. [9]
	c. 1839	Pashtun banner captured at Ghazni	An example of a Pashtun tribal battle flag. Written are the names of the first 4 caliphs placed opposite each other (Abu Bakr أَبُو بَكْرٍ, ‘Umar عُمَر, Uthman عُثْمَان and Ali عَلِيّ) [9]

Political flags

Political parties flags

Flag	Date	Party	Description
current
	2005–present	Hezbollah Afghanistan	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	Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan	Red flag with a yellow star in the canton.
	2004–present	People's Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan
Link to file	2003–present	National United Party of Afghanistan	Party emblem on blue background.
	1997–present	Watan Party of Afghanistan	Party emblem on blue background.
Link to file	1992–present	National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan	National flag from 1974-1978 with the party emblem instead of the national emblem.
	1989–present	Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan	Party emblem on blue background.
	1979–present	National Islamic Front of Afghanistan	A black flag with a gold emblem in the canton. The emblem consists of crossed swords, a wreath of wheat and Takbir.
	1972–present	Islamic Society	Green flag with a white emblem.
	1976–present	Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin	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	Hezbi Islami	Green flag with a white emblem. The emblem contains many symbols of the national emblem, to which the open Quran adds.
	1965–1992	People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan	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.

Rebel groups flags

Main article: Afghan rebel flags

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	Southern Turkestan Movement [10]	Red-blue-green tricolor with the white crescent moon and a star on a blue stripe. The star and crescent resembles the Kök Bayraq 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 [11] [12]	A variant of the 1990s of the national flag used by Northern Alliance.
	2021–present	Freedom and Democracy Front, Hazaristan Resistance Front [13]	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. [13]
	2015–present	Variant of the Jihadist flag used in Afghanistan by Islamic State – Khorasan Province [14] [15] [16] [17] 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. [18]
	2014–present	Hazarajat Freedom Movement [19]	Two-color white and blue flag divided into 1/3 of its length with a wavy pattern
	2006–present	Jamaat Ansarullah
	1996–present	Lashkar-e-Jhangvi	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	Turkistan Islamic Party [20]	White text of the Shahada above a white crescent moon and a star on a blue background. The star and crescent comes from the Kök Bayraq flag, while the Shahada symbolizes Islam.
	1979–present	Variant of the Jihadist flag used in Afghanistan by : Sacrifice Front (2013–present), Al-Qaeda (1988–present) Jamaat al-Dawah ila al-Quran wal-Sunnah (1986–present) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (1998–2015) Afghan Services Bureau (1984–1988) Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War	The flag consists of the Black Standard with a white text of the Shahada emblazoned across it in calligraphy style writing.
Link to file	1970s–present	Afghanistan Liberation Organization	A red flag with three raised hands, holding a hammer, a sickle and a gun respectively.
former
Link to file	1987–1989	Flag of Hezbollah was used by several factions of Tehran Eight [21]	Main article: Flag of Hezbollah
	1979	Flag associated with the Herat insurgents in 1979.	A green flag with white Takbir inscription.
	1916–1934	Flag of the Basmachi movement.	Red and white horizontal stripes, on the hoist side there is an orange rectangle with a white crescent moon and five-pointed star symbol. The whole is surrounded by a thin blue border.

Other

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	2014	Proposed flag of Khorosan [22]	Yellow-red-violet tricolor with the inscription "new Khorosan".

Red Crescent Society

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 [23]	A red mosque similar to the national emblem on a white background

Corporations

Airlines

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. [24]

Banks

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	?–present	Flag of Da Afghanistan Bank [25]	Emblem of Da Afghanistan Bank on a light blue background. In the center of the emblem there are stylized riders on horses, cornucopias full of coins. The whole is surrounded by a circle with the name of the bank in Dari and the year 1939, in which the bank was founded.

Ethnic groups flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	2013–present	Flag of Hazaristan [26]	Blue-white-yellow tricolor, the colors symbolizes the Hazara people's roots and origin, sky, their loyalty, long winter in Hazaristan, their future and development. [27] [28] [29] [30]
	1947–present	Flag of Pashtunistan	Main article: Flag of Pashtunistan
	?–present	Flag of Pashayi people

Unknown flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	early 19th century	Flags from the Afghanistan Military school at the time of Amir Habibullah Khan

Misattributed flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1980s–present	A flag representing the Hazaras in pan-Turkish concepts. [31]	A blue flag with a gold, stylized Sasanian crown 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. [32]
	?–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. [32]
	?	Alleged alternative variant of the flag of Democratic Republic of Afghanistan	National flag from 1978–1980 in green instead of red. [33]
	1970s	Alleged 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.

See also

• Flag of Afghanistan
• Emblem of Afghanistan
• Afghan rebel flags

References

1. "One Year on: The Taliban Air Force".
2. "صفحه اصلی | وزارت امور داخله". moi.gov.af. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
3. "Islamic-emirate-of-Afghanistan-Police". ImgBB. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
4. "Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Afghanistan". crwflags.com. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
5. "Afghanistan - Ministry of Education". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
6. "Afghanistan - Ministry of Mines and Petroleum". crwflags.com. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
7. "Afghanistan - Ministry of Public Health". crwflags.com. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
8. "Afghanistan - Ministry of Urban Development and Land". crwflags.com. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
9. "Afghan Military Flags | Maiwand Day".
10. "Afghanistan's Security Challenges under the Taliban". crisisgroup.org. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
11. "Opinion: The mujahideen resistance to the Taliban begins now. But we need help". The Washington Post .
12. "'Panjshir stands strong': Afghanistan's last holdout against the Taliban". The Guardian . 18 August 2021.
13. Garofalo, Daniele. "Resistance movements in Afghanistan are unanimous in overthrowing the Taliban and creating a democratic State". danielegarofalo.substack.com. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
14. "Who are the Islamic State-Khorasan, group responsible for Kabul airport bombing?". 27 August 2021.
15. "Taliban Provincial Governor Vows To Fight ISIS".
16. Rehman, Zia Ur (15 September 2021). "Afghan chaos mounts as ISIS-K tries to tarnish Taliban triumph". Nikkei Asia.
17. "Afghanistan: Several dead as blasts rock Jalalabad and Kabul". Al Jazeera. 18 September 2021.
18. The SITE (Search for International Terrorist Entities) website on 23 January 2007 stated: "The Islamic State of Iraq issued a document titled: 'The Legality of the Flag in Islam,' which contains the image of its flag and information to its symbolism, today, Tuesday, January 23, 2007. Text on the flag reading, 'No God, but Allah, and Muhammad is Allah's Messenger,' are the words contained on the flag of the Prophet Muhammad that he carried into battle and handed to generations of bearers. The Islamic State provides evidence and legitimacy for this banner from Islamic scholars, and goes into detail regarding opinions of the flag's material, title, and significance. According to the group the circular shape matches the ring stamp of the Prophet found on many scripts, and the order of the words are to indicate the supremacy of Allah over the Messenger." Cited by Ivan Sache at Flags of the World on 18 February 2007.
19. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=741084109289303&set=pb.100068410684021.-2207520000
20. Some analyzes indicate that the group no longer exists.
21. The changing ideology of Hezbollah. OCLC   1141519495.
22. "خراسانیان آزاده، فصل بیرق سوزان است!".
23. "Red Cross".
24. "History".
25. "Da Afghanistan Bank". crwflags.com. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
26. "Flag of Hazaristan on the Cover of the Anthology Poems for the Hazara". Hazara Rights. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
27. "Flag of Hazaristan". Hazara International Network. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
28. "Flag of Hazaristan". Kamran Mir Hazar. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
29. "بیرقی برای هزارستان". Kabul Press. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
30. "Hazaristan". The CRW Flags. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
31. "Hazaristan (Afghanistan)".
32. "Turkey: The Sixteen Great Turkish Empires".
33. "Afghanistan October 1978 - April 1980".