ISLAMABAD: Misbah Arshad has been crowned Miss Universe Pakistan 2026 and will represent the country at the Miss Universe 2026 competition in Puerto Rico in November.
The recorded crowning ceremony was held at the Rizal Park Hotel in Manila, Philippines, and was released by the organisers in two parts on YouTube on August 18 and 19.
Arshad secured the national title after competing against nine other finalists. She will now prepare to represent Pakistan at the global pageant, where she is expected to showcase the country’s culture, identity and diversity.
The Miss Universe 2026 competition will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 24. The event is particularly significant this year as the pageant marks its 60th anniversary, with around 130 contestants expected to participate.
Following her victory, Arshad received congratulatory messages from fans and social media users, who expressed hopes that she will represent Pakistan confidently on the international stage.
Miss Universe is among the world’s most prominent beauty pageants. Contestants are judged not only on their appearance but also on confidence, personality, communication skills and their perspectives on social and humanitarian issues.
According to beauty pageant website Conan Daily, Arshad was born in 2000 and is from Pakistan. She has previously lived in Islamabad and Munich, Germany, where she is studying psychology at the University of Hagen.
Arshad began making a name for herself in beauty pageants in 2023. On May 31 that year, she was crowned Miss Pakistan World 2023. She also won the Miss Aura Pakistan 2023 title and represented Pakistan at Miss Aura International 2023.
In September 2023, she competed against 42 contestants at the Miss Aura International pageant in Kemer, Antalya, Türkiye, but did not secure a position.
She later represented Pakistan at Miss International 2023 in Tokyo in October. The competition featured 69 contestants, but Arshad did not advance to the final positions. She had also held the title of Miss International Pakistan 2023.
In 2024, Arshad represented Pakistan at Miss Supranational 2024 in Nowy Sącz, Poland. She competed against 67 contestants at the July 6 event but did not secure a notable position. Before the competition, she held the title of Miss Supranational Pakistan 2024.
With her latest victory, Arshad has added another major achievement to her growing pageant career.
She will now turn her attention to the Miss Universe 2026 final in San Juan on November 24, where she will compete for the global crown and seek to further raise Pakistan’s profile on the international pageant stage.
