From Aroob Jatoi to Fahad Mustafa: Winners of Pakistan Influencer Awards

The first Pakistan Influencer Awards brought together some of the country’s most popular social media personalities at Karachi’s Expo Centre on Saturday, recognising creators across more than 30 categories.

The event followed months of performance analysis, jury assessments and public voting. It was hosted by fashion designer Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, actor Rabab Hashim, Dino Ali and comedian Faiza Saleem.

Chief curator Talha Aslam said the awards were intended to become an annual platform for setting standards of recognition in Pakistan’s growing creator economy.

Salman Iqbal, head of the ARY Group, said social media creators and mainstream media now reached many of the same audiences, adding that leading digital personalities deserved recognition based on credible standards.

Among the evening’s major honours, Aroob Jatoi and Hassan Asghar were named Instagram creators of the year in the female and male categories, respectively. Romaisa Khan and Zulqarnain Sikandar received the corresponding TikTok awards, while DHA Wali Maid and Sharum ki Sketchbook won the YouTube titles.

Muhammad Haris, Maryam Asjad and Saim Rehman were recognised as emerging creators of the year on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, respectively.

The winners in the other categories were:
Lifestyle and Culture
- Lifestyle: Zarnab Fatima (Instagram), Kanwal Aftab (TikTok)
- Beauty and Make-up: Eleyna Shehzad (Instagram), Humna Zahid (TikTok)
- Fashion: Shaeel Siddiqui (Instagram), Areeka Haq (TikTok)
- Travel: Barira Khan
- Fitness: Ali Raza

Food
- Food Discovery: Saqib Mobeen
- Culinary Experts: Mohammad Danial

Entertainment and Content
- Comic: Ali Abdullah
- Entertainment: Hafiz Raza Ahmed
- Podcasts: Umar Saleem
- Performing Arts: Daniya Kanwal
- Music: Maanu and Hasan Raheem

Knowledge and Influence
- Tech: Imran Dina and Taha Bhatti
- Voices and Perspectives: Maryam Raja
- Business and Career: Rama Jafri

Community and Identity
- Family Lifestyle: Asim Kamal
- Couple Creator: Ducky and Aroob

Specialised
- Athletes: Shahzeb Khan Rind
- Gaming: Zalmi Plays
- Automotive: Ayesha Khan Lodhi
- Sports Celebrity: Shoaib Akhtar

Impact
- Social Impact: Mr and Mrs Yellow

Celebrity Content Creator
- Celebrity: Aiman Khan (female), Fahad Mustafa (male)