Star Plus to kick off Pakistani drama transmission next month

E-Paper | June 24, 2026

Star Plus UK is set to join the ranks of other Indian TV channels like Colors and Zindagi UK with the airing of the first Pakistani drama in its broadcast history.

Mehreen Jabbar's Mera Naam Yousuf Hai enjoys the distinction of being the first TV serial from Pakistan to be aired on the Star network. The broadcast will begin on October 18th, according to BizAsia.

Mera Naam Yousuf Hai is a convoluted romantic drama, which stars Imran Abbas, Maya Ali, Waseem Abbas and Hina Bayat. It was first aired earlier this year on Pakistan's A Plus and was a very popular show.

Also read: TV drama Mera Naam Yousuf Hai plays the filmi card and wins

Star Plus UK's move to broadcast Pakistani content is said to be done to meet a growing demand for it. Other Indian TV channels like Colors and Rishtey broadcast Pakistani shows to great response, and ZEE TV launched the Zindagi channel exclusively for Pakistani dramas in June last year.

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jan

Sep 05, 2015 11:21am

good news finally

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Flip flop

Sep 05, 2015 11:43am

Biggest achievement till date for Pakistan, hope world view changes, living in USA its tuff to admit roots.TV is the best equaliser

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ash

Sep 05, 2015 11:54am

so I hope Indians views will change about Pakistanis and Pakistan 's culture

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Saiyan

Sep 05, 2015 12:23pm

Finally. Indian serial-dramas are a form of medieval torture. hopefully this'll be refreshing

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Arjun

Sep 05, 2015 01:11pm

Nobody watching dramas of pakistan in india...but in UK.

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Amir Khan

Sep 05, 2015 01:19pm

@Arjun than why everybody is running them

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salim langra

Sep 05, 2015 01:32pm

Boys, enjoy the programs for what they are. Don't bring the India / Pakistan baggage into it.

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Madhusudan

Sep 05, 2015 01:46pm

Now pakistani dramas will crush bollywood to its knees.

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jaysing

Sep 05, 2015 01:56pm

@Saiyan how do you know that Indian serial-dramas are a form of medieval torture

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Simla

Sep 05, 2015 01:58pm

@ash We don't want to promote cousin marriages in India. We consider cousins as brothers and sisters.

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jayshing madanshing shisodiya

Sep 05, 2015 02:04pm

@Madhusudan lol

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mohan

Sep 05, 2015 02:17pm

@ash Believe me our views about Pakistanis and Pakistan's culture are always positive and we really love the both but some people with 'Nuclear Bomb' syndrome are a great hurdle between us.

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Dr. Sadaf

Sep 05, 2015 02:26pm

Are we supposed to be thankful?

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Shahid

Sep 05, 2015 02:40pm

Thank you India so much.

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Saqib UK

Sep 05, 2015 02:41pm

Pakistan needs to use the popular dramas to project soft power and a better image of the country just like bollywood and hollywood do for their respective countries.

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pakistani

Sep 05, 2015 02:43pm

a handful of pakistani dramas in india shock the indian people that what pakistan is but i am afraid indians and indian government in particular dont want anything from pakistan showing to indian people except only bad news all the times which makes them happy. They don't want them to see how awesome our fashion industry is, our women are beautiful, our films and songs good and are copied and used in bollywood movies, our food is better than them there is so much.

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Jawad tihar

Sep 05, 2015 02:45pm

sometimes i feel bless that our pakistani women are so beautiful and exotic than indian women who i dont find attractive at all rather ugly.

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Anwar

Sep 05, 2015 02:58pm

Pakistani drama's producers,writers and directors now need to be more creative and skillful beside actors also need to work harder with sincerity in order to earn more name and money.

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Indian

Sep 05, 2015 04:27pm

Thank God India shows Pakistani Drama's good way to exchange culture. .Pakistan should also show instead of banning. .

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Oneeb

Sep 05, 2015 05:03pm

@Arjun I work in Jeddah and I have many Indians working with me (both muslims and hindus) mostly from delhi, mahrashtra, hyderabad and UP. Believe me, they all say that Pakistani dramas are worth to watch and way better then Indian dramas.

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bryan

Sep 05, 2015 05:03pm

@Arjun No Arjun that is not full fact. In India you deliver quality and you can gain market. Thankfully our audience and market makers believe in this one fact. That is why the industry is so big now

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Brar

Sep 05, 2015 05:05pm

We enjoy Pakistani urdu drama's

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Brar

Sep 05, 2015 05:11pm

@pakistani You are totally wrong Indian Govt or Indian people have no such worries we enjoy Pakistani dramas since june last year when Zindgi channel was launched which telecast only Pakistani dramas,I do not know why you think so.

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Sandeep SIngh

Sep 05, 2015 06:33pm

@ash What is Pakistan's culture...It's Indian Subcontinent Culture.

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Sunil

Sep 05, 2015 07:31pm

@ash Its more or less the same, like Indian dramas.

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Sudhakar USA

Sep 05, 2015 07:40pm

India allows Pak serials doesn't ban them. Whereas pak bans Indian movies.

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M.Saeed

Sep 05, 2015 07:47pm

@Arjun : Because, Indian prejudiced Government has banned airing or reproduction of all Pakistani channels.

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TANGENT

Sep 05, 2015 08:51pm

Humans !!! Why can't we just shut up and enjoy creativity. How does it matter which side of the fence it was created ?

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Rev. Eldrick Lal

Sep 05, 2015 08:54pm

This play was so wonderfully done. The delivery of the dialogues and the accent of Urdu was off the hook.

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langada tyagi

Sep 05, 2015 10:16pm

lets c how long it stays for on..

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Ajay vikram Singh

Sep 05, 2015 10:19pm

@pakistani - No worries. May your tribe grow. God bless you.

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Indian

Sep 05, 2015 10:24pm

@Oneeb I second that oneeb, There is no comparison between Pakistani dramas and Indian. We started watching Pakistani dramas last year our friends as well. I called to my friends in India to tell them about Pakistani dramas and everyone of them watching them. I believe a good competetion will improve Indian dramas as well. Btw right now Indian dramas are pathetic.

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Rashid Nazir

Sep 05, 2015 10:45pm

@Sudhakar USA Well in Pakistan Indian soaps drama are part of prime time of every channel and it is in practice from more than 10 year. Since satellite channels started in pakistan in 2002-03 Indian tv programs are a routine part of these entertainment channels. The indian content is not limited to dramas, but indian reality shows, award shows are also aired regularly even on main stream channels of Pakistan like ARY Digital, Geo Tv to name a few. As compared to Pakistan, In india only from last year a channel Zee Zindagi has taken the initiative of airing Pakistani dramas. Rest on Indian films these are regularly released in Pakistan only few ones which are anti-pakistan are banned.

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N.S

Sep 05, 2015 11:12pm

@Sandeep SIngh It's actually Muslim/Mughal culture...almost 900 years of Muslim rule has left indelible marks in this part of the world. So the people living in the area which is called Pakistan are the inheritors of that Muslim culture...more than the people of other faiths.

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nandkishor

Sep 05, 2015 11:57pm

@pakistani anything do you like about india?

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Imran

Sep 06, 2015 12:12am

@Jawad tihar - Wow your comment is so biased. India is equally blessed with beauty. Me and many other Pakistanis find Indian women very attractive.

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Simla

Sep 06, 2015 01:10am

@pakistani You are just too ignorant. Whatever you have, India has the same and then some because it is big and diverse.

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Saimain Afzal

Sep 06, 2015 05:39am

These immature comments by Pakistanis & Indians to downplay, insult & argue is a fruitless effort to widen a gap between the two countries. PLEASE STOP & enjoy each other we are on this earth for a limited time do not have the hate & distrust spread try & promote love, share the rich culture our two countries have there is enough misery that people around the world experience try not to be a part of it.

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KAILASH SINGH

Sep 06, 2015 07:41am

I have good memories of watching Pakistani dramas on PTV when I lived in J&K around 1990. Their acting,direction,good story line,no unnecessary make up and natural dialogue delivery made me fan of Pakistani dramas.Further there was no loud background music either. I always wished our drama makers could watch these dramas and learn something but there was no satellite TV then. I remember the popular 'Chandi-Sona'. There was also a great show 'Neelam Ghar' hosted by Tariq Aziz. His starting lines were: Dekhti aankho,sunte kaano aapko.............aur Tariq Aziz ka salaam pahunchey.I hope Pakistani dramas have kept the momentum.

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Fortel

Sep 06, 2015 08:02am

Truth be told,thank you @ pakistan for making tv in india worth viewing.Enough said.

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Deepak

Sep 06, 2015 08:17am

There is never a ban on airing Pakistani dramas.

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@lodhi

Sep 07, 2015 01:26am

Time has changed our industry and our art ia in demand in india so the best to time to invest in Media Industry as part from this good news pur lollywood industry is emerging too with quality work.

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flipflopcarrot

Sep 07, 2015 05:07am

@salim langra can't avoid this mate. There are always people who will spread hatred, they do it to fuel their soul because they have been devoid of attention for so long.

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ashi

Sep 08, 2015 05:09am

looking forward for this lovely drama... this is one of the best dramas i've seen. imran and maya rock

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ashi

Sep 08, 2015 05:09am

count down begins!!!!!!!!

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