ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir have been ranked jointly at number one in Jordan’s prestigious publication The Muslim 500: The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims 2027.
They were named alongside Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
According to the 2027 edition, the Pakistani leaders share the top position for their roles in strengthening Pakistan’s political and defence influence in the Muslim world.
The publication identifies the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed on August 7, 2026, as a major development behind the joint recognition of the leaders of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
In its profiles, the magazine describes Shehbaz Sharif as a veteran politician and experienced administrator who played a key role in securing Pakistan’s participation in the trilateral security arrangement.
“Known as an effective administrator, his administration rapidly approved the necessary political frameworks to lock Pakistan into the trilateral security pact,” it wrote.
The publication noted that Field Marshal Asim Munir is Pakistan’s first Chief of Defence Forces and was promoted
to Field Marshal in May 2025.
It added that Munir directs the Makkah Defence Alliance’s vital defensive backbone, including the rapid deployment of troops, air-defence systems, and strategic military infrastructure.
The top 50 of the list also featured other Pakistanis, including Islamic scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani, Maulana Tariq Jameel, Amir of Tablighi Jamaat Maulana Nazar-ur-Rehman, and Sheikh Ilyas Attar Qadiri.
Other Pakistanis featured in the list
The 2027 edition of The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims also recognises several other prominent Pakistanis across different fields, including former prime minister Imran Khan, Malala Yousafzai, Professor Akbar Ahmed, female religious scholar Khanum Syeda Tayyaba Bukhari, Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, Dr Farhat Hashmi, and Sheikh Tahir-ul-Qadri.
Others include Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, Ayatollah Syed Sajid Ali Naqvi, Professor Adibul Hasan Rizvi, Muniba Mazari, Dr Atta-ur-Rahman, Dr Umar Saif, and physicist Professor Irfan Siddiqi.
In arts and culture, filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, singer Abida Parveen, naat reciter Siddiq Ismail, Muhammad Owais Raza Qadri, and Shia Noha reciter Syed Nadeem Raza Sarwar were named, while in the media category, journalist Hamid Mir, media owner Salman Iqbal, and Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman were placed.
