Nashtar's Story So Far: Shah Dawood, Bareera and the Geo Drama Everyone's Arguing About
Nashtar is the Pakistani drama people can't stop watching and can't stop arguing about. Danish Taimoor plays Shah Dawood, the proud heir of a powerful landowning family, and Anmol Baloch plays Bareera Aijaz, the university student who humiliates him in public and pays for it with a marriage she never wanted. Twenty-one episodes in, it's one of Geo's biggest hits on YouTube, and one of its most criticised.
You'll see the title spelled two ways, Nashtar and Nishtar. They're the same show.
Nashtar timing and where to watch
| Where | How | When |
|---|---|---|
| Pakistan (TV) | Geo Entertainment | Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 8pm PKT |
| Worldwide, including India | Har Pal Geo's YouTube channel, with English subtitles | After the TV broadcast |
Nashtar launched in a Friday and Saturday slot, and that's still what older listings say. Since October, though, Geo has been airing it three nights a week: episodes 19, 20 and 21 went out on Friday 16, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October. Every episode is free on YouTube with English subtitles, which is how most viewers outside Pakistan, including in India, are watching it.
What does Nashtar mean?
A nashtar is a lancet, the small, sharp blade a surgeon uses to cut, and in Urdu it's often used for words or memories that cut deep. It fits a drama built on wounds that won't close: the OST opens with a line about healing "zakhm", wounds. If you search for "Nishtar" and keep getting a hospital in Multan, that's Nishtar Hospital, named after the politician Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar. It has nothing to do with the drama.
Nashtar cast and characters
Danish Taimoor plays Shah Dawood, a man raised by his father to believe in authority, control and unquestioned respect. Anmol Baloch is Bareera Aijaz, a professor's daughter and a student with strong principles who refuses to be intimidated by him. Naeema Butt plays Tamseel Durrani, who has loved Shah Dawood since childhood and can't accept Bareera in his life. Usmaan Peerzada is Shah Dawood's father, Dastoor Ali Khan, and Haroon Shahid is his friend Arbaz.
The wider cast includes Yousuf Bashir Qureshi, Shahnawaz Zaidi, Mahmood Aslam, Nida Mumtaz, Ali Dayyan Walji, Ramsha Salahuddin, Syed Afzal Ali, Fatima Gohar and Ayesha Gul.
What is Nashtar about?
It starts as a clash of egos. Bareera stands up to Shah Dawood in public, he isn't used to anyone doing that, and neither of them will back down. The feud escalates until circumstances force them into a marriage neither wanted. Living under one roof only sharpens their differences: she won't surrender her dignity, and he can't accept a wife who won't submit to him. Somewhere under the fighting, the drama promises, resentment starts turning into respect, and then into feelings neither expected. Standing in the way is Tamseel, who has always believed Shah Dawood belongs to her.
Around that central triangle sits an older feud. Shah Dawood's family has a bitter rival over land and water rights, and over a love affair a generation ago, and it gives the drama a darker backdrop than its romance-war promos suggest.
Nashtar story so far (spoilers)
⚠ Episodes 1 to 21: what's happenedShow spoilers
| Episodes | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 to 9 | Bareera publicly takes on Shah Dawood, and the feud goes public: he is mocked at the university, in the newspapers and across social media as a ruthless monster. She slaps him, and he turns from wounded pride to revenge. His men abduct her brother, Kabir. |
| 10 and 11 | On the day of a family wedding, Shah Dawood turns up with a cleric. To save her brother and stop any bloodshed, Bareera agrees to marry him on the spot. He leaves her with her father, promising to come back for her. |
| 12 to 14 | Shah Dawood's father, Dastoor Ali Khan, bedridden for years, dies, and the family's old rival makes clear that his son is next. Shah Dawood tells those close to him that the marriage is only on paper; Tamseel learns of it and is devastated. |
| 15 to 17 | Bareera's family fakes her death: an unidentified body washes up on the shore, her father identifies it as hers and accuses Shah Dawood of murdering her. But Shah Dawood finds her alive and takes her away. |
| 18 to 21 | Bareera is now living under Shah Dawood's roof, with Tamseel at the mansion and losing control of her jealousy. In episode 21 he takes Bareera to a remote island and tells her she can have her freedom, but only if she begs him for it. She refuses. |
Episode 22 airs on Friday, 23 October. We update this page each week as new episodes air.
How many episodes will Nashtar have?
Geo and 7th Sky Entertainment haven't announced a total, so any figure you see online, including the "30 episodes" some listing sites give, is a guess. What we can say is that the story is still deep in its middle stretch: the central relationship has only just started to shift, and the questions the official synopsis sets up, about Tamseel and whether Shah Dawood and Bareera can build something real, are nowhere near answered. With three episodes a week, though, it's moving faster than it did in its first two months.
Nashtar on YouTube: how many views?
Har Pal Geo doesn't publish a running total, but its official uploads tell the story. Episode 1 has nearly 24 million views on its own, early episodes sit well above 10 million each, and the latest episodes are passing 7 to 8 million within a few days of going up. It was reported to have crossed 100 million views within its first four episodes, putting it among the fastest-starting Pakistani dramas of the year alongside Green Entertainment's Mitti De Baway.
Nashtar OST: singer and lyrics
The title song is sung by Shani Arshad, who also co-wrote the lyrics with SK Khalish. It opens with the line "Apne zakhm ko bhar lo jo tum khoon-e-dil se hamare", heal your wounds with the blood of our heart, which sets the tone for a drama about two people who keep hurting each other. The official OST video has passed 7 million views.
Why viewers are divided
For all its numbers, Nashtar has a vocal set of critics. The episodes after the wedding, including a boat sequence and an intimate scene between Shah Dawood and Bareera, set off a backlash online. The most common complaint is that it's familiar: viewers point out that Danish Taimoor has played the possessive, larger-than-life hero and his "bold romance" in drama after drama, and some say the promos show nothing new. Naeema Butt's Tamseel has also come in for criticism, with viewers calling her performance overdone in the scene where Tamseel begs Shah Dawood to choose her, and the character's lack of self-respect hard to watch.
The other side of it is just as clear: those same episodes are still pulling millions of views. For us, the reason to stick with it is Anmol Baloch's Bareera, a heroine who answers back and refuses to beg even when she's cornered.
For more of what's on air now, see our Pakistani drama coverage, including Hum TV's Hurmat.
Quick answers
What time does Nashtar air?
At 8pm Pakistan time on Geo Entertainment, now on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Episodes go up on Har Pal Geo's YouTube channel after the broadcast.
Where can I watch Nashtar in India?
On Har Pal Geo's official YouTube channel, free and with English subtitles.
Is it Nashtar or Nishtar?
Both spellings are used for the same Geo drama. The official title is Nashtar.
How many episodes of Nashtar have aired?
Twenty-one, as of 18 October 2026. Episode 22 airs on Friday, 23 October. The total number of episodes hasn't been announced.
Who plays Tamseel in Nashtar?
Naeema Butt plays Tamseel Durrani, who has loved Shah Dawood since childhood.
Who sang the Nashtar OST?
Shani Arshad, who also co-wrote the lyrics with SK Khalish.
Who wrote and directed Nashtar?
It's written by Maha Malik and directed by Seraj ul Haq, and produced by Abdullah Kadwani and Asad Qureshi for 7th Sky Entertainment.
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