For the first time ever, Pakistan’s creators had a night of their own. On Saturday evening, the country’s most-followed names on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube gathered at Karachi’s Expo Centre for the inaugural Pakistan Influencer Awards. If you want to see who is actually trending on TikTok right now, the Trending TikTokers tool shows the creators leading the For You page in Pakistan and around the world.
The awards covered more than 30 categories, decided through months of performance data analysis, expert jury evaluation and public voting. The evening was hosted by Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, Rabab Hashim, Dino Ali and Faiza Saleem.
The Big Winners at a Glance
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| TikTok Creator of the Year (Female) | Romaisa Khan |
| TikTok Creator of the Year (Male) | Zulqarnain Sikandar |
| Instagram Creator of the Year (Female) | Aroob Jatoi |
| Instagram Creator of the Year (Male) | Hassan Asghar |
| YouTube Creator of the Year (Female) | DHA Wali Maid |
| YouTube Creator of the Year (Male) | Sharum ki Sketchbook |
| Emerging Creator of the Year (TikTok) | Maryam Asjad |
| Emerging Creator of the Year (Instagram) | Muhammad Haris |
| Emerging Creator of the Year (YouTube) | Saim Rehman |
| Celebrity Content Creator (Female) | Aiman Khan |
| Celebrity Content Creator (Male) | Fahad Mustafa |
| Music Award | Maanu and Hasan Raheem |
| Couple Creator Award | Ducky and Aroob |
| Sports Celebrity Award | Shoaib Akhtar |
TikTok’s Biggest Night: Romaisa Khan and Zulqarnain Sikandar Take the Crown
The two most-watched prizes of the evening were the TikTok Creator of the Year awards, and both went to creators who have spent years building their audiences one video at a time. Romaisa Khan won the female award, while Zulqarnain Sikandar took the male award — a result that will surprise almost nobody who spends time on Pakistani TikTok.
Romaisa Khan has become one of the most recognisable faces on the platform, known for dance, comedy and lifestyle content. Her win reflects something bigger than one creator: dance and entertainment content made by young Pakistani women now sits at the very centre of the country’s short-video culture.
Zulqarnain Sikandar, half of Pakistan’s most famous creator couple alongside Kanwal Aftab, won the male award for comedy and family entertainment that has made him a household name. His style is a reminder that the creators who last are rarely the ones chasing one viral moment — they are the ones who show up with the same characters, the same humour and the same consistency for years.
Kanwal Aftab herself won the Lifestyle award on TikTok, Areeka Haq took the Fashion award, Humna Zahid won Beauty and Make Up, and Maryam Asjad was named Emerging Creator of the Year on TikTok. The platform’s biggest night belonged to creators who built their audiences around a clear niche and refused to leave it.
Instagram and YouTube: Aroob Jatoi, Hassan Asghar and the Long-Form Stars
On Instagram, the Creator of the Year awards went to Aroob Jatoi and Hassan Asghar. Aroob Jatoi’s win is part of a remarkable family story: she and her husband Ducky Bhai also took home the Couple Creator award together, making them the only household to win twice on the night.
YouTube’s top honours went to two very different kinds of creators. DHA Wali Maid won the female Creator of the Year award, while Sharum ki Sketchbook won the male award — proof that YouTube in Pakistan rewards originality and personality just as much as polish. The emerging awards went to Saim Rehman on YouTube and Muhammad Haris on Instagram, two names newer audiences should start watching now.
The split across the three platforms tells its own story. TikTok rewards speed, trends and personality; Instagram rewards aesthetics and lifestyle; YouTube rewards depth and staying power. The winners understood which game they were playing.
The Category Winners Who Stole the Show
Beyond the platform awards, the category prizes showed just how wide Pakistan’s creator world has become. Fahad Mustafa and Aiman Khan won the Celebrity Content Creator awards, a sign that mainstream stars now take the creator economy seriously enough to compete in it.
Music had its own moment, with Maanu and Hasan Raheem sharing the Music award, and Hasan Raheem also performing live on stage. Comedy went to Ali Abdullah, Entertainment to Hafiz Raza Ahmed, Podcasts to Umar Saleem and Performing Arts to Daniya Kanwal.
The food, travel and lifestyle categories were just as crowded. Saqib Mobeen won Food Discovery, Mohammad Danial won Culinary Experts, Barira Khan won Travel, Ali Raza won Fitness, Zarnab Fatima won Lifestyle on Instagram, Eleyna Shehzad won Beauty and Make Up on Instagram and Shaeel Siddiqui won Fashion on Instagram.
Then there were the specialist awards that show how far the creator economy now reaches: Imran Dina and Taha Bhatti won Tech, Maryam Raja won Voices and Perspectives, Rama Jafri won Business and Career, Asim Kamal won Family Lifestyle, Shahzeb Khan Rind won the Athletes award, Zalmi Plays won Gaming, Ayesha Khan Lodhi won Automotive, Shoaib Akhtar won Sports Celebrity, and Mr and Mrs Yellow won Social Impact.
Why This Night Matters for Every Creator in Pakistan
Chief curator Talha Aslam opened the evening with a vision: to build an annual platform that sets meaningful standards for recognition within Pakistan’s creator economy. Salman Iqbal, head of the ARY group, called the awards a meaningful step towards giving Pakistan’s creators the stature they have earned.
That matters because, until now, Pakistani creators have mostly been measured by their own dashboards. An annual awards night changes that: it gives brands a trusted shortlist, new creators a ladder to climb, and audiences a reason to discover creators outside their usual feed.
What the Winners Have in Common
Look past the individual names and a clear pattern emerges. Almost every winner built their audience around one clear thing first — Romaisa Khan and dance, Zulqarnain Sikandar and family comedy, Areeka Haq and fashion, Kanwal Aftab and lifestyle. The winners did not try to be everything to everyone; they picked a lane, mastered it, and only then expanded.
Second, the winners post consistently. None of the names on the winners list appeared overnight. They built their audiences over years of regular uploads, learning what their viewers wanted and giving them more of it.
Third, the winners understand their platform. The TikTok winners make fast, trend-aware, personality-led videos. The Instagram winners understand visuals and lifestyle storytelling. The YouTube winners invest in longer, deeper content. Each of them plays to the strengths of the place where their audience actually lives — and many of them collaborate, from duets to shared videos, one of the fastest organic ways to reach new viewers.
What Small Creators Can Learn From Awards Night
If you are a small creator watching the winners list and wondering how to get there, the night offers a practical playbook. Pick one niche and own it before you branch out. Post on a schedule your audience can rely on. Study what is trending on your platform every day, and put your own spin on it rather than copying it outright. Collaborate with creators in your niche, even if their audience is the same size as yours.
Tools can help with the research part. Checking who is trending on TikTok, which sounds are rising and what top creators are posting is the fastest way to spot an opening for your own content. The Trending TikTokers tool lets you see the creators leading the For You page, so you can study what is working right now instead of guessing.
FAQs
When and where were the first Pakistan Influencer Awards held?
The inaugural Pakistan Influencer Awards took place on Saturday evening at Karachi’s Expo Centre, with the winners announced the same night.
Who won TikTok Creator of the Year?
Romaisa Khan won TikTok Creator of the Year (Female) and Zulqarnain Sikandar won TikTok Creator of the Year (Male).
Who won Instagram Creator of the Year?
Aroob Jatoi won the female award and Hassan Asghar won the male award on Instagram.
Who won YouTube Creator of the Year?
DHA Wali Maid won the female award and Sharum ki Sketchbook won the male award on YouTube.
How were the winners chosen?
Winners were decided through months of performance data analysis, expert jury evaluation and public voting across more than 30 categories.
Who hosted the Pakistan Influencer Awards?
The evening was hosted by fashion designer Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, actor Rabab Hashim, Dino Ali and comedian Faiza Saleem.
The Bottom Line
Pakistan’s first Influencer Awards did more than hand out trophies. They gave the country’s creator economy a stage, a standard and a shared moment. For everyone watching from home, the message is simple: pick your niche, post consistently, collaborate generously and keep learning what your audience loves. The next awards night is already on its way — and the creators who start that work today are the ones most likely to be standing on that stage next year.
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