Flag of Pashtunistan

The flag of Pashtunistan (Pashto: د پښتونستان بیرغ) is a flag representing a proposed independent state of Pashtunistan. The flag was adopted by Pashtun separatists who sought to carve out an independent state of Pashtunistan from Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province, Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.^[1] The flag was promoted by the Afghan government which supported the separatist cause, with September 2 being Pashtunistan Day which was observed as a national holiday in Afghanistan until the overthrow of Mohammad Najibullah's Homeland Party regime in 1992.^[1] The flag is still in use today by Pashtun nationalists.

The flag was adopted on September 2, 1947, at the declaration of independence, following the boycott by Pashtuns on the referendum on joining Pakistan as the referendum did not include an option to form an independent Pashtunistan as demanded by the Pashtunistan Resolution.^[2] The flag was promoted by the Pashtun nationalist governments of Afghanistan which supported the separatist cause, with September 2 being becoming Pashtunistan Day and would remain a national holiday in Afghanistan from 1949 up until the overthrow of Mohammad Najibullah's Homeland Party regime in 1992 which ended Pashtun domination in Afghan politics.^[3] It was widely used in Afghanistan until the fall of the Homeland Party government in 1992. From the 1950s to the early 1980s it appeared on Afghan postage stamps.^[4] The flag made a resurgence in the early 2000s thanks to the internet and is widely used today by Pashtun nationalists but its sometimes also used when referring to the Pashtun ethnic group.

Flag	Date	Use	Details
	1709-1738 1818-1901	Flag of the Hotak Empire (1709-1738) Flag of the Emirate of Afghanistan (1818-1901)
	Late 1800s	Flag of Waziri Rebels
	1930s	Flag of Pashtun rebels in Waziristan
	1940s	Flag of Pashtunistan	Before September 2, 1947
	2 September 1947–Present	Flag of Pashtunistan

The colors of the Pashtunistan flag derive from both "racial and religious traditions" as well as the Pashtun people's struggle for freedom. The red is meant to honour the martyrs who sacrificed their blood for Pashtun freedom. The flag used by the Khudai Khidmatgars which was a Pashtun resistance movement against the British, was a unicolor red and this same flag was later adopted by the National Councils of Pashtunistan with some modifications. The black stripe is to represent the Black flag used in the early Islamic era which also was used as Afghanistan's flag up until 1901 when a emblem was added to it. The red and black are also to represent the predominant colors in "the life of the Afghan race" and the traditional clothing of Pashtuns in both Pashtunistan and Afghanistan composed of these colors. Aryan tradition considers red as a sign of valour and black signifies perseverance and strength. The Emblem in the center of the Black stripe depicts the sun of freedom (Which is also referenced in the anthem of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan) rising over snowy peaks with the takbir written above the emblem.^[2][5]

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  1961 Stamp commemorating "Pashtunistan Day"
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  1965 Stamp with alternative variant
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  Map of Pashtunistan published in 1953
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  Logo of the Pashtoons Social Democratic Party (since 1981)