10 Best Pakistani Dramas To Watch: Classics Worth Your Time

The best Pakistani dramas to watch include Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Dastaan, Udaari, Cheekh and Aakhri Station. These shows, mostly from Hum TV and ARY Digital, are known for tight episode counts, strong writing and stories about class, family and women’s rights. Below are ten that still hold up, with cast, year and plot.

Pakistani serials built a big following in India in the 2010s because they finished their stories in a few months instead of running for years. Many viewers found them a welcome change from long-running saas-bahu soaps.

Can you watch Pakistani dramas in India in 2026?

This is the first thing to know before you start. On 8 May 2025, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued an advisory telling OTT platforms, streaming services and intermediaries operating in India to stop offering web series, films, songs, podcasts and other content of Pakistani origin, with immediate effect. The ministry cited national security, as reported by Bollywood Hungama.

So you may not find these titles on Indian streaming apps right now. We have kept the list because readers still look for these shows, and the details below are useful for anyone tracking classic Pakistani television.

Quick facts: the 10 best Pakistani dramas to watch

1. Dastaan (2010)

Dastaan is based on Bano, the 1971 novel by Razia Butt, and is set against the Partition of the subcontinent. Fawad Khan plays Hassan and Sanam Baloch plays Bano, a young couple whose lives are torn apart by the violence of 1947. Saba Qamar and Ahsan Khan are also in the cast.

Haissam Hussain directed it for Hum TV. It is a heavy watch, but it remains one of the most respected period dramas made in Pakistan.

2. Aakhri Station (2018)

Seven strangers from very different backgrounds meet in a train compartment headed to Karachi. Each one is dealing with something hard at home, and the episodes tell their stories one by one, covering domestic violence, depression and forced prostitution.

Sanam Saeed, Nimra Bucha and Eman Suleman lead the cast. Amna Mufti wrote it and Sarmad Khoosat directed it for ARY Digital.

3. Cheekh (2019)

Saba Qamar plays Mannat, whose friend Nayab dies after a fall from a rooftop. Suspicion falls on the powerful Wajih, played by Bilal Abbas Khan, and Mannat refuses to stay quiet even when her own in-laws turn against her.

Her fight costs her dearly, but she pushes the case back to court and gets justice. Badar Mehmood directed it from a script by Zanjabeel Asim Shah.

4. Dil Mom Ka Diya (2018)

This 30-episode ARY Digital romance drama stars Neelam Muneer, Imran Ashraf, Yasir Nawaz and Hira Mani. It follows four characters, Afzal, Ulfat, Tamkinat and Azhar, and looks at how a selfish attitude can damage relationships and the people around you.

Saira Raza wrote it and Shahid Shafaat directed it.

5. Zindagi Gulzar Hai (2012 to 2013)

If you watch only one show from this list, make it this one. Sanam Saeed plays Kashaf, a proud, hardworking young woman from a struggling middle-class family. Fawad Khan plays Zaroon, a wealthy classmate. Their story moves from dislike to marriage, and the show is as much about class and self-respect as it is about romance.

Umera Ahmad adapted her own novel and Sultana Siddiqui directed the 26 episodes for Hum TV. The show became hugely popular in India and was later available on Netflix for a few years.

6. Aisi Hai Tanhai (2017 to 2018)

The earlier version of this list described this show only as a college romance. The story is darker than that. A college student’s private photos are leaked online after a violent theft, and she loses her engagement, family ties and reputation.

She goes through a court case and more trauma before she becomes a voice for other young women. Sonya Hussain and Sami Khan lead the cast, with Badar Mehmood directing for ARY Digital.

7. Ek Thi Marium (2016)

This is a telefilm, not a full serial. Sanam Baloch plays Marium Mukhtiar, a Pakistan Air Force fighter pilot who became the first woman in her air force to die in the line of duty, in a 2015 training crash near Kundian.

Sarmad Sultan Khoosat directed it, and it premiered on Urdu 1 on 6 September 2016. It is a short watch and a good pick if you want something true and focused.

8. Khaas (2019)

Sanam Baloch plays Saba, an ambitious woman who marries the charming businessman Ammar, played by Ali Rehman Khan. After the wedding his narcissistic side comes out, and the show traces how she recognises the abuse and walks away.

Sarwat Nazir wrote it and Danish Nawaz directed it for Hum TV. Its message on respect within marriage is direct and clear.

9. Udaari (2016)

Udaari deals with child sexual abuse, and handles the subject with rare directness for prime-time TV. Ahsan Khan plays Imtiaz, a predator, while Samiya Mumtaz, Bushra Ansari, Urwa Hocane, Farhan Saeed and Hina Altaf play the women whose lives he affects.

Farhat Ishtiaq wrote it and Mohammed Ehteshamuddin directed it. It won Lux Style Awards for Best TV Director, Best TV Writer and Best Actor for Ahsan Khan.

10. Ranjha Ranjha Kardi (2018 to 2019)

Iqra Aziz plays Noori, a young woman from a poor family of garbage pickers who wants a respectable life. After a series of deceptions she is pushed into marrying Bhola, a mentally challenged landowner, played by Imran Ashraf.

What starts as resentment slowly turns into love. Faiza Iftikhar wrote it and Kashif Nisar directed it for Hum TV.

For more TV recommendations, see our series section, and browse more ranked lists in listicles.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Bollywood Hungama, Zindagi Gulzar Hai (Wikipedia), Udaari (Wikipedia).