Urdu Awards

In the multilingual Pakistani society, the national language Urdu, being lingua franca, is the only language spoken, understood, and read in every corner of the country. Most of the literature in Pakistan is written in Urdu and hundreds of books are published in it every year. The Pakistan Academy of Letters gives three awards every year in Urdu. Since 2023, the number has been increased to four. Below is the list of recipients of this award:

The Allama Iqbal Award

Named after the Poet of the East Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal, this award is given every year to the best collection of Urdu poetry. This award was launched in 1981. So far, the following poets have received this award:

# Book Title Author Year
1Nā tamāmMohsin Ehsan1401 AH
2IkāīSaleem Ahmed1402 AH
3Mehr-i Do NīmIftikhar Arif1403 AH
4FishārAmjad Islam Amjad1403 AH
5Khud KalāmīParveen Shakir1404 AH
6Haroon Kī ᾹvāẓHimayat Ali Shayer1405 AH
7Navā-’ē ShabPartau Rohila1406 AH
8Qalb-o-Naẑar Kē SilsilēQayyum Nazar1407 AH
9ᾹṡārMukhtar Siddiqui1408 AH
10MashriqSaleem Ahmed1409 AH
11Pas-i Andāẓ MausamAhmad Faraz1410 AH
12Ik Katẖā AnokhīDr. Wazir Agha1411 AH
13Jālib NāmahHabib Jalib1412 AH
14JustRazi Akhtar Shauq1413 AH
15Tūtā Huā PalShahzad Ahmed1414 AH
16Ḥarf-i BāryābIftikhar Arif1415 AH
17Koī Aur SitārahTauseef Tabassum1416 AH
18Ᾱdẖā Din Aur Ᾱdẖī RātYasmeen Hameed1417 AH
19Darāẓ Palkoṅ Kē Sā’ē Sā’ēKhaled Ahmed1418 AH
20Khāboṅ Sē Tarāshē Huē DinAbbas Rizvi1998
21Ghazal Bahāna KarūṅAhmad Faraz1999
22Sāhiloṅ Kī HavāAmjad Islam Amjad2000
23Ᾱg ik TārahSyed Zamir Jaafri2001
24Dam-i ṢubḥZia Jalandhari2002
25Pānī Pe Bichā TakhtMuhammad Izhar-ul-Haqq2003
26GumānJaun Elia2004
27Ᾱnē Vālā KalShahzad Ahmed2005
28Mī RaqṣamAnwar Shaoor2006
29Arẕ-o-SamāAhmed Nadeem Qasmi2007
30SamandarFaisal Ajmi2008
31Maiṅ Naẑm Likẖtā HūṅAftab Iqbal Shamim2009
32DarveshFaisal Ajmi2010
33Saṯr-i NauManzar Hussain Akhtar2011
34Nam GiriftahKhaled Ahmed2012
35Sar-i Bāẓār Mi RaqṣamSabir Zafar2013
36Dhūp KiranImdad Hussaini2014
37Maiṅ Nē Ism-i Muhammad Ko Likẖā BohutSalim Kausar2015
38Ab TakZafar Iqbal2016
39LāraibNaseer Turabi2017
40Gul ChāndnīZehra Nigah2018
41Mohūm Kī MehekAbrar Ahmed2019
42BārgāhQamar Shahzad2020
43Bāgh-i Gul-i SurkhIftikhar Arif2021
44DarguẓarQamar Raza Shahzad2022

The Bābā’e Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haqq Award

Named after Maulvi Abdul Haqq, this award is given every year to the best book of research and criticism in Urdu. This award was introduced in 1981. Before the launch of the Saadat Hassan Manto Award in 2017, this award covered the entire Urdu prose including fiction. So far, the following books/authors have received this award:

# Book Title Author Year
1Ṭẖanḍā Mīṭẖā PānīKhadija Mastoor1401 AH
2Duniyā Kā Qadīm Tarīn AdabIbn-e-Hanif1402 AH
3Hind YatrāMumtaz Mufti1403 AH
4Gard-i RāhDr. Akhtar Hussain Raipuri1404 AH
5Urdu Adab Kī TeḥrīkēṅDr. Anwar Sadid1405 AH
6Samē Kā BandẖanMumtaz Mufti1406 AH
7Shahāb NāmaQudratullah Shahab1407 AH
8Shehr Andar ShehrSadiq Hussain1408 AH
9Urdu Naṡr Kē Irtiqā Mēṅ Uʻlamā Kā HiṣṣaDr. Muhammad Ayub Qadri1409 AH
10Ᾱb-i GumMushtaq Ahmed Yousufi1410 AH
11Nāngā Parbat / YātrāMustansar Hussain Tarar / Muhammad Khalid Akhtar1411 AH
12Miṣr Kā Qadīm AdabIbn-e-Hanif1412 AH
13Alakẖ NagrīMumtaz Mufti1413 AH
14Kuch Aur NahīṅBano Qudsia1414 AH
15Ᾱgē Samandar HaiIntizar Hussain1415 AH
16Tanqīd Kī ᾹẓādīMuzaffar Ali Syed1416 AH
17Ham NafasMasood Mufti1417 AH
18Samar SāmirAslam Sirajuddin1418 AH
19Culture Kē Rūḥānī AʻnāṣirDawood Rehbar1998
20Jadīdiyat Aur Mā Bʻad JadīdiyatZameer Ali Badayouni1999
21Prāganda Ṯabʻa LogDawood Rehbar2000
22Purānī Meḥfilēṅ Yād Ᾱ Rahī HaiṅAbdullah Malik2001
23Shehrẓād Kē NāmIntizar Hussain2002
24Nirbadā Aur Dūsrī KahānīyaṅAsad Muhammad Khan2003
25Jadīd Sindhi AdabSyed Mazhar Jameel2004
26Lāl Sabẓ Kabūtaroṅ Kī ChatrīDr. Aslam Farrukhi2005
27Tārīkh-i Adab-i Urdu (3rd)Dr. Jameel Jalibi2006
28Khāk Kā RutbaHassan Manzar2007
29Urdu Novel Kē Hama Gīr SarokārDr. Mumtaz Ahmed Khan2008
30SaltanatMahmood Ahmed Qazi2009
31Kiā Ẓamānē Tẖē Kiā Log TẖēAfzal Tauseef2010
32Dūr Kī ᾹvāẓMuhammad Mansha Yad2011
33Tanqīdī Theory Kē So SālDr. Wazir Agha2012
34Insān Ai InsānHassan Manzar2013
35Ẓamīṅ Rang / Pākistān Mēṅ Ghālib ShanāsīTahira Iqbal / Dr. Shakeel Patafi2014
36Ham Nafsān-i Khush GuẓrāṅMuhammad Hamza Farooqi2015
37Urdu Adab Kī Tashkīl-i JadīdNasir Abbas Nayyar2016
38Jīnē Kī PābandīKhalida Hussain2017
39NikātDr. Tahsin Firaqi2018
40Mīr-i KārvāṅMian Muhammad Afzal2019
41Urdu Lughat (Tārīkhī Uṣūl Par): Taḥqīqī-o-Tanqīdī MuṯāliʻahDr. Bibi Ameena2020
42Yehī Ᾱakhir Ko Ṭẖehrā Fann HamārāDr. Tauseef Tabassum2021
43Urdu Adab: Māholiyātī TanāẓurDr. Aurangzeb Niazi2022

The Saadat Hassan Manto Award

Named after the outstanding Urdu fiction-writer Saadat Hassan Manto, this award is given every year to the best book of Urdu creative prose. The award was launched in 2017. Earlier, the Bābā’ē Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haqq Award covered entire Urdu prose literature. So far, the following Urdu prose writers/books have received this award:

# Book Title Author Year
1 Jẖijak Hassan Manzar 2018
2 Girāṅ Tahira Iqbal 2019
3 Siyāh Sonā (Afsānē) / Pārē Shumārē Nilofer Iqbal / Shaheen Abbas 2020
4 Aʻjāib Khānah Irfan Javed 2021
5 Merī Dẖartī Merē Log Ahmed Saleem 2022

The Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi Award

Named after the renowned prose-stylist Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi, this award will be presented every year to the best non-fiction creative prose book in Urdu. This award has been launched in 2023.