Guardians of Excellence

The Jury.

The ULA jury is assembled afresh each year — a distinguished panel of academics, authors, critics, and cultural practitioners who bring the highest standards of literary and artistic judgement to bear on all nominations.

⚠ All profiles shown are sample placeholder content for demonstration purposes.

Independent Selection

Jury members are appointed by ULA's cultural advisory board and operate independently of all institutional or commercial interests.

Multi-disciplinary Expertise

Each jury panel spans disciplines — with specialists in every literary language and art form represented across the panel as a whole.

Deliberation & Citation

Every winning work receives a written jury citation — a critical statement explaining the award and contributing to the record of Pakistani literary culture.

12th Edition — 2026

Current jury panel.

Click any jury member to read their full biography and credentials.

Jury Chair · Literature

[Sample] Prof. Amina Siddiqui

Professor of Urdu Literature, University of Karachi · Author of eight critical works on modern Urdu prose

Jury Member · English & World Literature

[Sample] Dr. Kamran Raza

Novelist · Associate Professor of English Literature, LUMS, Lahore

Jury Member · Drama & Online Literature

[Sample] Yasmin Farouqi

Award-winning playwright · Artistic Director, Roshni Theatre Lab, Lahore

Jury Member · Pakistani Languages

[Sample] Shahid Qureshi

Poet & literary editor · Former President, Sindhi Adabi Sangat · Translator

Jury Member · Songwriting & Visual Arts

[Sample] Aisha Mirza

Cultural critic and writer · Contributing editor at major arts and culture publications

Jury Member · Non-Fiction & Debut

[Sample] Prof. Noman Baig

Literary historian · Visiting Fellow, Aga Khan University · Author of three major critical studies

Past Jury Members

A legacy of critical authority.

Each edition of ULA has been judged by a panel drawn from Pakistan's most distinguished academic, literary, and artistic community. The following individuals have served on previous ULA jury panels.

[Sample] Dr. Rashid Ali Khan

Jury Chair, 2021–2022 · Professor Emeritus, Punjab University

[Sample] Sabeen Akhtar

Jury Member, 2019–2022 · Literary critic and broadcaster

[Sample] Murtaza Hussain

Jury Chair, 2017–2019 · Poet and editor, Sang-e-Meel Publications

[Sample] Prof. Zubaida Naqvi

Jury Member, 2015–2019 · Folklorist and oral historian

[Sample] Khalid Mahmood

Jury Member, 2013–2017 · Novelist, Hyderabad

[Sample] Dr. Tahira Gul

Jury Member, 2009–2013 · First ULA Jury · Urdu scholar

All names above are sample placeholder content.