Several posts (here, here, & here), accompanied by a video showing a Pakistani flag flying on top of a royal building, are being widely shared across social media platforms. These are viral with claims suggesting that Pakistani Muslims have occupied London and hoisted the Pakistani national flag on Westminster Abbey as a sign of Islam replacing Christianity at Easter festivities. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: The Pakistani national flag was hoisted on Westminster Abbey in London during the holy week of Easter in a sign of London’s takeover by Islam.
Fact: Westminster Abbey flew Pakistan’s national flag on 22 March 2024, as a representative from the High Commission of Pakistan attended Evensong on the same day, having been invited to commemorate Pakistan Day on 23 March 2024. This occurred before the start of Easter week. It was part of their tradition to fly the national flag of Commonwealth nation when a representative of it attends Evensong on or around their national day. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
To verify the accuracy of the viral claims, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet and came across several reports (here, here, & here) concerning the hoisting of the Pakistan national flag on Westminster Abbey. According to these reports, London’s Westminster Abbey flew Pakistan’s flag on March 22 to observe a tradition that dates back more than 50 years and is unrelated to Easter, an Abbey spokesperson told Reuters, responding to claims spreading online that it was a sign of Islam replacing Christianity at Easter festivities. The Pakistani flag was hoisted above the Abbey for the day on March 22 because a representative of the country’s High Commission attended Evensong that day, having been invited to commemorate Pakistan Day.
An Abbey spokesperson told Reuters that it’s a tradition dating back more than 50 years to invite High Commission representatives of Commonwealth states to Evensong on or around their national days. When a representative attends, the respective state’s flag will be hoisted above the Abbey. The presence of the Pakistani national flag for a day above Westminster Abbey was unrelated to Easter, and no flag was flown during Holy Week, which began on Palm Sunday on 24 March 2024, until the eve of Easter Sunday on 30 March 2024, when the St. Peter’s flag was flown. This information was also mentioned on the Westminster Abbey official website.
We also came across a post by the Pakistan High Commission in London, UK, on their official Twitter handle. According to this post, as per tradition, Pakistan’s flag was hoisted on the rooftop of Westminster Abbey, and Westminster Abbey organized a Special Evensong to mark Pakistan Day.
The official website of the High Commission of Pakistan in London also mentions this tradition of hoisting Pakistan’s flag on the rooftop of Westminster Abbey. According to this website, “This year, a representative from the High Commission of Pakistan attended Evensong on 22 March 2024, in advance of Pakistan Day on 23 March 2024. And, as per tradition, the Pakistani national flag was flown.”
This is a tradition of Westminster Abbey. This privilege is accorded to all Commonwealth members on their respective National Days and is not exclusive to Pakistan only. The tradition of hoisting Commonwealth nations’ flags is mentioned on Westminster Abbey’s official website, and various countries’ High Commissions have noted the occurrence, including Jamaica in August 2011, Bangladesh in March 2017, Singapore in August 2013 and 2018, Sri Lanka in February 2022 and 2023, and Trinidad and Tobago in August 2022.
To sum it up, Westminster Abbey in London flew the Pakistan flag to commemorate Pakistan Day as per its longstanding Commonwealth tradition.
