Actor envisions Zaryab returning to Harvard, building a career, travelling the world and putting herself first
Durefishan Saleem may have played Zaryab through one of the most emotionally complicated journeys in Dar-e-Nijaat, but the actor has a very different ending in mind for her character — one where she chooses herself.
Taking to Instagram, Durefishan shared the ending she would have liked to see for Zaryab, imagining a future in which the character returns to Harvard, completes her degree, starts vlogging, travels the world and builds a life around her own ambitions.
“My sister said she low-key wants Zaryab to go back to Harvard, start vlogging, casually flip her hair, get even richer, lean into her girl gang, and travel the world and honestly, in an ideal world, without the dramatic license, I kind of want exactly the same for her,” she wrote in the caption of her Instagram post.
The post comes as Dar-e-Nijaat takes Zaryab from a promising young woman with a place at Harvard to someone whose life becomes increasingly shaped by heartbreak, faith, relationships and the choices of the people around her.
At the heart of the drama is a question of trust — and whether the person someone has trusted for years is necessarily the person who is actually good for them.
Zaryab’s relationship with her childhood love, Zamil, is built on familiarity and emotional history, but his choices ultimately force her to confront how little she truly knows about the person she has placed her faith in.
The drama also explores the complicated relationship between religion, morality and personal choice. Zamil’s decision to leave Zaryab in favour of a supposedly more religious path becomes part of a wider conversation about whether outward religiosity automatically makes someone a better partner or a better person.
Meanwhile, Zaryab’s growing connection with Abu Bakr challenges her own assumptions about what goodness and compatibility look like. That makes Zaryab’s eventual decision particularly divisive.
After everything she loses, Zaryab still ends up married, leaving some viewers wondering whether the story could have offered her another form of resolution, while also hoping it still can as the drama continues to air.
Durefishan’s Instagram post appears to tap directly into that question.
Her imagined ending does not necessarily reject romance; instead, it gives Zaryab something the drama’s storyline arguably leaves viewers wanting — an identity outside the men in her life. A Harvard degree, a career, friends, travel and a life shaped by her own interests could have represented a different kind of happy ending.
Fans quickly rallied behind the idea.
One commenter, identifying herself as a Harvard alumna, wrote that the Pakistani women she knew at Ivy League universities were “powerhouses”, while another joked, “Leaving Harvard for a man is a sus move bestie! GO GET THAT DEGREE”.
Actor Danner Mobeen also joined the conversation, writing, “Gurl go back no man is worth it”.
Romaisa Khan, who plays Hamna in the series, added her own enthusiastic endorsement: “Take Hamna with you!”
The reaction reflects a larger debate Dar-e-Nijaat has generated around Zaryab’s choices.
Earlier, Durefishan had addressed criticism of the character’s journey, arguing that the story was not simply about whether women should or should not heal with another person, but about the different standards society applies to men and women when it comes to mistakes, redemption and moving on.
The discussion has also extended to Zamil’s actions. Nameer Khan, who plays the character, previously called out Zamil’s behaviour and urged men to be respectful, honest and accountable in relationships.
