Islamic Flag At Ajit Pawar - Nawab Malik Roadshow Viral With False Claim

A photo of an Islamic flag hoisted on a house seen in the background of an Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) roadshow in Mumbai is viral with a false claim that it is a Pakistani flag.

The photo is from a November 7, 2024 joint roadshow by former Minister Nawab Malik and his daughter Sana Malik, at Shivaji Nagar area in Mankhurd of suburban Mumbai.

The roadshow was attended by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who was the star attraction at the campaign.

The Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP is part of the Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena. Pawar campaigned for Malik despite strong opposition to it from within the alliance especially from state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Pawar also defended recent allegations on Malik that he had links with terrorist and gangster Dawood Ibrahim.

The photo with the false claim shows Pawar, Malik and his daughter Sana atop an open vehicle waving to the crowd, with a green flag with a crescent moon and star, highlighted in the background.

The posts with text in Marathi sarcastically question Fadnavis on the same, purporting that it is the national flag of Pakistan.

The viral photo is being shared on X and Instagram with captions translating in English to, "Is this the Islamic flag or the Pakistani one?"

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FACT-CHECK

BOOM found that the posts are making a false claim and that the flag seen at NCP leaders Ajit Pawar, Nawab and Sana Malik is an Islamic religious one and not that of Pakistan.

The green flag seen in the photo has a white crescent and star in the middle, which is often seen in Muharram and Eid Milad-un-Nabi processions. It misses the distinct white band synonymous with the Pakistani flag.

BOOM has previously debunked disinformation misidentifying the Islamic flag as Pakistani's national flag

We can also see the same Islamic flag in the original photo posted by Malik on November 8, 2024.