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Afghanistan December 1992 - September 1996

Islamic State of Afghanistan, De Afghanistan Islami Dawlat | flag used 1996-2001 by the 'Northern Al

1:2
by Jaume Ollé
Flag and coat-of-arms adopted 2nd December 1992

Introduction
Description
Date on Flag
Hanging flag with colours in reverse order

See also:

Historical Flags (Afghanistan)

Introduction

In September 1996 the Taliban took over the capital, Kabul, and soon thereafter most of Afghanistan. From then until the war that followed the 11th September 2001 attacks against New York and Washington, the green-white-black flag was only used in Northern Afghanistan, the United Nations building plus some embassies (eg. Iran). After the Taliban defeat in November-December 2001, both the 1992 flag and the 1973 flag —and even the earlier April 1992 flag— were flown by different factions within the anti-Taliban forces.

Santiago Dotor, 12 December 2001

Description

Three horizontal stripes of green, white, black with the coat of arms over all in the centre. The arms are based on previous pre-Communist models and contain a representation of a mosque within a wreath of wheat-ears. Above the wreath is the shahada, the Moslem confession of faith, and also (in very small letters) the slogan Allahu Aqbar (God is Great). Beneath is the date 1371 in the Islamic calendar (=1992 AD) and the name Islamic State of Afghanistan all in gold. Around all this are two curved sabres. The flag dates from 2 December 1992. (...) Old versions of the flag tend to linger on: at the United Nations HQ which I visited in 1992 they still had the pre-1987 flag flying.

William Crampton, ca. 1996

Wheat is not only the heritage of communism, but is also a reminder of the legend that the first Aryan kin