Durefishan Saleem has stepped into the debate around her own drama, Dar-e-Nijaat, after a scene in the latest episode split viewers. In episode 29, her character Zaryab Habib turns down a sleeveless dress at her sister’s baby shower, saying she no longer feels comfortable wearing such clothes. It was a small moment, but it set off a large argument online about faith, modesty and who decides what a woman wears. On Sunday, Saleem took to Instagram to explain the scene, and her message was plain: the problem is not the choice, it is the judging of it. The Durefishan Saleem Dar-e-Nijaat dress debate has since become the most searched showbiz story in Pakistan.
What happened in episode 29 of Dar-e-Nijaat
The scene comes at a family celebration. Zaryab attends her sister’s baby shower and is offered a sleeveless outfit for the occasion. She decides against wearing it, saying she finds the dress revealing and no longer feels comfortable in it. The refusal is quiet and personal, but it lands in the middle of Zaryab’s wider story: a young woman whose life has been upended and who is rethinking her beliefs and the way she lives.
Dar-e-Nijaat, written by Umera Ahmed and directed by Saqib Khan, has followed that spiritual journey since premiering on ARY Digital on 1 August 2026, airing Friday and Saturday nights. The drama centres on Zaryab, played by Saleem, and Abu Bakar, played by Sheheryar Munawar, whose lives become connected through love, difficult choices and sacrifice. Episode 28 aired on Friday 6 November, and the baby shower scene followed the next day.
For many viewers, the dress scene was the next step in a character arc the show has built for weeks. For others, it was a step too far, and the argument quickly moved beyond the episode itself.
“The choice isn’t the issue, judging it is”
Saleem’s Instagram post, shared on Sunday, was an attempt to bring the discussion back to what the scene was actually about. She explained the scene showed Zaryab’s relationship with faith changing, and the character should have the freedom to go through that change. Faith, she said, is an internal transformation which shows itself in external actions, including how someone chooses to dress.
Her central point in the Durefishan Saleem Dar-e-Nijaat dress debate was about choice. A woman’s right to choose how she dresses must extend to all women, Saleem argued, whatever style they prefer. The real issue, she said, is not what Zaryab chooses to wear, but how people “begin questioning, scrutinising or judging her choices instead of simply respecting them”.
She was clear that Dar-e-Nijaat is Zaryab’s story: “her imperfections, her flaws, her contradictions as a woman”. The audience is entitled to its opinion, Saleem said, but she questioned the need to turn a narrative choice into a national emergency. “Not every character arc needs a panel discussion, a jury and a final verdict from the internet,” she wrote. “You don’t have to agree with Zaryab, you don’t have to relate to her, and you certainly don’t have to make her journey your own… Sometimes, it is simply someone else’s story.”
Saleem also drew a line between herself and her character. Unlike Zaryab, she said, she is comfortable wearing sleeveless clothing and has been for some time. “That’s my personal relationship with modesty and someone else’s may look very different to it,” she wrote, adding that her faith did not give her the right to judge others, nor others the right to judge her. What she wears is her own business, she said.
Why the scene divided viewers
Reaction to the Durefishan Saleem Dar-e-Nijaat dress debate has been split. Some viewers welcomed the scene as honest character development, saying Zaryab was deciding for herself as her view of modesty and spirituality changed. They also noted Abu Bakar had not pressured her to change her appearance.
Others were less convinced, arguing the moment unnecessarily tied a personal transformation to a change in dressing. One viewer said Zaryab comes from a liberal family, and the scene did not feel realistic for her. Another asked why a woman refusing a sleeveless dress had become a subject of debate at all. The disagreement has widened into a broader discussion about women’s clothing choices, personal freedom and how modesty is portrayed in Pakistani dramas.
Not the first dress row around Dar-e-Nijaat
This is not the first sleeveless-dress row around the drama, although the earlier one ran in the opposite direction. In episode 20, which aired in October, Zaryab appeared in a sleeveless outfit, and some social media users mocked Saleem’s arms and physique instead of discussing her performance.
Former Miss Universe Pakistan Roma Riaz defended her, saying it was painful to see a talented actor “reduced to a conversation about her arms”. Saleem answered by sharing a Lux advertisement video captioned “Always P H A T, and that’s the tweet”, refusing to apologise for her body. The contrast is striking: in October, Saleem was criticised for wearing one; in November, her character is debated for refusing one.
A drama about a spiritual journey
At its heart, Dar-e-Nijaat is about change. The title roughly means the doorway to salvation, and follows characters escaping the consequences of painful choices. Zaryab begins as a carefree, privileged young woman whose dreams shatter, and the show tracks her slow journey towards faith and self-understanding.
Saleem, born in Lahore in 1996, is one of Pakistan’s most followed television stars, known for Kaisi Teri Khudgarzi, Ishq Murshid and Sanwal Yaar Piya. Her performance as Zaryab has drawn praise throughout the run, and the show is one of the year’s most talked-about serials. Whether viewers agree with Zaryab or not, the Durefishan Saleem Dar-e-Nijaat dress debate shows how closely audiences follow her journey — and how quickly one scene can become a national conversation. Saleem’s message stands as the last word: respect the choice, even when it is not your own.
Sources: Dawn Images; Minute Mirror.
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