Prepared and compiled by MALIK MERCHANT

Barakah’s news coverage of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, and his family, along with essential readings on the Ismaili Imamat, began in 2021. We are starting a new page for 2026 to keep you informed about ongoing updates. While we will mention news events on this page, we will often direct you to dedicated pages for more details, such as Mawlana Hazar Imam’s visits to Jamats around the world and events that span multiple days and cannot be covered comprehensively in brief without compromising essential details. We invite you to explore our coverage from 2021 to 2025 by clicking the following links, helping you stay connected to our shared history regarding the Imam-of-the-Time.

• 2025
• 2024 Part 1 January to July ;
• 2024 Part 2 August to December;
• 2023; and
• 2021-2022.

They all contain anchor links for readers to zero in on a specific news item.

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JANUARY 1 – December 31, 2026, NEWS COVERAGE — ANCHOR LINKS

Chronological Sequence

• January 1-2, 2026: His Highness the Aga Khan announces visit to the UK.
• January 16, 2026: Prince Amyn Aga Khan meets Portuguese President
• January 16, 2026: Princess Zahra Aga Khan arrives in Karachi
• January 16, 2026: His Highness the Aga Khan’s Convocation Message to AKU Graduates

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January 16, 2026: His Highness the Aga Khan’s Convocation Message to AKU Graduates

Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, the Chancellor of Aga Khan University (AKU), has congratulated the graduates of AKU across all its campuses, including Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Reflecting on the transformative power of education to change lives, Mawlana Hazar Imam emphasised that this moment places upon AKU and its graduates both an extraordinary responsibility and an extraordinary opportunity — to create, share, and apply knowledge in ways that improve the quality of human life. His full video message can be watched on YouTube, below.

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January 16, 2026: Prince Amyn Aga Khan meets President of Portugal

In a news item dated January 16, 2026, The Ismaili, the official website of the Ismaili community, reports that Prince Amyn Aga Khan, uncle of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, met last week with His Excellency Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa, President of the Portuguese Republic, at the Presidential Palace in Belém, Lisbon. Prince Amyn conveyed New Year’s greetings, acknowledged President De Sousa’s outstanding service to the country, and thanked him for his tireless efforts for the protection of human dignity and the promotion of pluralism and peace.

The Portuguese Presidential elections are scheduled for January 18, 2026. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has been Portugal’s president since 2016 and is completing his second and final five-year consecutive term in office.

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January 16, 2026: Princess Zahra Aga Khan arrives in Karachi

A post on the Official ‘X’ Account for the office of the Minister of Culture, Tourism & Antiquities Department, Government of Sindh. has announced the arrival of Princess Zahra Aga Khan, sister of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, in Karachi.

The Provincial Minister for Culture and Tourism, @SyZulfiqarShah, received Princess Zahra Aga Khan, daughter of Prince Karim Aga Khan, at Karachi airport.

The Provincial Minister extended a warm welcome on behalf of the Sindh government.

The Minister also appreciated the Aga… pic.twitter.com/7n8Z7nQGEf

— Culture, Tourism, Antiquities & Archives Dept, GoS (@Ministerculture) January 16, 2026

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January 1-2, 2026: His Highness the Aga Khan to undertake official visit to the United Kingdom in February 2026

In a Talika Mubarak read in Jamatkhanas worldwide on January 1 and 2, 2026, Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, announced he will undertake an official visit to the United Kingdom from February 1 to 5, 2026, during which he will meet with the Jamat residing in the UK and Ireland. He also said that he is planning a separate visit to Germany where he will have the opportunity to meet with his Jamat residing in Germany and in other European countries under the jurisdiction of the Ismaili Council for the UK.

To focus his attention on the Jamat of the UK and Ireland, Hazar Imam does not wish members of the Jamat from other countries to travel to the UK during his visit.

In the Talika Mubarak, Hazar Imam also sent his global Jamat good wishes for a very happy New Year: “I pray that 2026 brings happiness, peace, good health, and the fulfilment of all your good wishes,” he said.

Story continues below

Within days of becoming the 50th Imam upon his father Mawlana Shah Karim’s death on February 4, 2025, His Majesty King Charles III granted the title of His Highness to Mawlana Hazar Imam. His Majesty’s website notes that “the tradition of the title being accorded by the Monarch to the Ismaili Imams dates back to the first Aga Khan. To mark the accession of Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan as the fiftieth hereditary Imam of the Shi’a Ismaili Muslim community, and in accordance with long-standing tradition, it has pleased The King to grant the new Aga Khan the title ‘His Highness’.”

The background details regarding the granting of the title of His Highness to Mawlana Hazar Imam and his immediate 4 predecessors, from Aga Khan I to Aga Khan IV, can be read under the story titled The King is pleased to grant the new Aga Khan the title “His Highness”.

NOTE: Barakah has launched a new page providing comprehensive coverage of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s forthcoming visit to the UK, including the weeks leading up to it. Please click HERE for the special coverage.

Date posted: January 2, 2026.
Last updated: January 17, 2026

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