Sara arrives at the home of Arfeen Abbas. She gives him a letter, which upsets him when he reads it. Arfeen asks Sara where "Saba" is, and she replies that she died four days earlier. He collapses, regains his composure and asks Sara for her address so they can collect her belongings. When they arrive at Sara's modest home, they go to Saba's bedroom to gather her things. Arfeen finds a pair of Saba's old sandals, and begins to cry; Sara wonders why he is so grief-stricken. They return to Arfeen's estate and he introduces Sara to his son, Haider. It is learned that Saba was Sara's mother and Arfeen's cousin. Although Saba and Arfeen were in love, Saba was treated badly by most of the family—especially Arfeen's mother —because of her liberal views. When Arfeen tells his parents that he wants to marry Saba, they object. He says that if he cannot marry her he will not marry at all, and they relent. Sara and Haider become friends and she becomes accustomed to living in Arfeen's home, although she wonders what happened between him and her mother; when she visits her family, no one will tell her. Arfeen, who does not want Sara to leave his house, wants Haider to marry her. Haider, unready for marriage, is reluctant but finally agrees; Sara also agrees to the union. On their wedding day, she disappears. Arfeen panics, and asks Sara's aunt Aqsa if she told Sara what had happened; she says no. Arfeen tells Haider the story. Saba and Arfeen married, but his parents and sisters were unhappy. Arfeen's mother sends him to get his younger sister from her in-laws' house the day before Saba's rukhsati, and asks Saba to make up the spare bedroom. Saba finds Aadil, a cousin who was attracted to her and whom Arfeen's mother had asked to fix a curtain rod, in the bedroom. While they work, the bedroom door closes; they pound on the door to no avail. Arfeen's mother and most of the rest of the family then come to the door, and she accuses Saba and Aadil of inappropriate behaviour. No one believes their denials, and Arfeen's father threatens to kill them both. Aadil's mother begs him to run for his life, and Saba is mercilessly beaten; not even her mother and sister believe her. Arfeen hears about this and questions Saba, who maintains her innocence. He asks her to swear on the Quran that she is innocent; she agrees if his mother will also take the oath. Saba mistakenly thinks that her aunt is too religious to lie on the Quran, and Arfeen reluctantly divorces her. He marries a woman in the United States, but is still in love with Saba; she is married off to an abusive 50-year-old father of four, who mistrusts her due to Arfeen's father. No one from her family visits her during her second marriage. Saba becomes pregnant and her husband, refusing to believe that the child is his, divorces her. She becomes a maid, gives birth to a girl, and blames herself for what has happened. Arfeen and his wife have a son, but their marriage is unhappy. In Pakistan, one of Arfeen's sisters loses her husband; his younger sister is divorced, and his mother is diagnosed with cancer. On her deathbed, she admits that she lied because she was jealous of Saba. Arfeen divorces his wife and asks Saba to marry him; she says that she still loves him, but cannot trust him. Her parents ask her to return to them, but she disappears. Several years later, Saba works at a garment factory owned by Arfeen. She is friendly with Haider, but covers her face to hide her identity until her death. In the present, it is learned that Sara overheard how her mother was treated by Arfeen's family and ran away. Haider tracks her down and explains everything; Sara forgives the family, and the couple begin a new life.
Cast
First generation
Khayyam Sarhadi as Qasim Abbas, the eldest brother and father of Arfeen and his two sisters.
Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishan was broadcast every Saturday at 8:00 pm on GEO Entertainment. The 20-episode series was telecast on Zindagi in India as Kaisi Ye Qayamat.
