The inaugural Pakistan Influencer Awards 2026 were held at the Expo Centre in Karachi on Saturday evening, with mainstream celebrities and leading digital creators taking home trophies across more than 30 categories. Among the celebrity winners, actor and television host Fahad Mustafa won Celebrity Content Creator of the Year in the male category, alongside actress Aiman Khan. Musical artists Maanu and Hasan Raheem received the top honour in the music category after a live stage performance, while former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar won the Sports Celebrity award. The show had five nominees in each category and recognised creators on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
The platform awards went to some of the most followed names in the country. Aroob Jatoi and Hassan Asghar won Creator of the Year on Instagram, while Romaisa Khan and Zulqarnain Sikandar dominated the TikTok categories. Sharum ki Sketchbook won Creator of the Year on YouTube, and Ducky Bhai and Aroob Jatoi picked up the Couple Creator award, which gave Aroob Jatoi more than one trophy on the night. Category awards also recognised niche creators working in travel, technology, lifestyle, fashion, food, and public advocacy, which shows how wide the creator economy has become beyond entertainment alone.
Other winners spoke about what the recognition means. Maryam Raja, who won in the Voices and Perspectives category, said it is high time Pakistan recognised influencers, and that awards in the country have usually been limited to actors and films. She said she began creating content to inspire women to follow their dreams, even though content creation is still looked down upon in a conservative society, particularly for women. Zarnab Fatima, who won the lifestyle influencer award on Instagram, agreed and said that such awards pave the way for much needed recognition. She added that influencers carry a big responsibility, because young people follow what they post and promote.
The awards were curated by Talha Aslam, who has more than ten years of experience in brand marketing and digital ecosystem development, while Zeeshan Mianoor, Chief Executive Officer of Inovi Telecom, served as director of the programme. Aslam explained that the top 20 candidates in each category were identified through data and shortlisted to 10 by a Creative Jury, after which an Executive Jury from brands and advertising agencies gave each influencer a weightage out of a score of 5. Public voting followed, with four million votes received in 15 days. He said about 135,000 accounts are monetised on YouTube in Pakistan, and that the awards were meant to show that content creation is a serious industry with huge potential.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
