Ali Gul Pir believes we have bigger problems than Barzakh

Barzakh has come to an end but the drama surrounding it isn’t dying out, even after Zindagi announced that the show would be taken down from YouTube in Pakistan in light of a controversy over its ‘inappropriate’ content.

Just after Zindagi’s announcement to pull the show from YouTube on August 9, designer Maria B took to her social media and threatened to take team Barzakh to court for promoting what she called ‘provocative’ themes.

In response, rapper Ali Gul Pir pointed out that Barzakh was an Indian production and asked whether the designer would pursue similar legal action against other international shows like Game of Thrones, which depicts controversial content such as incest.

While highlighting the selective outrage directed towards shows featuring Pakistani actors, Gul Pir, on his Instagram stories, said he genuinely believes we have bigger problems at hand — such as lack of education and inflation.

“The problem is that there are many things on the internet, on YouTube. We have faced the same problem before. For three years, we faced a YouTube ban. This [Barzakh] is an Indian product. Your actors have acted in it but it’s an international project. You cannot ban everything that is there on the internet,” he said emphatically.

Gul Pir said that banning anything is counterproductive because it makes that thing more popular. Instead, one can simply not watch what they don’t want to watch. “You don’t have to watch these things. I didn’t even know about this drama until you made it famous. I didn’t even know it existed. There are so many actors who, if you don’t like [them], don’t watch their stuff. But you cannot ban everything, that is not the solution.”

The rapper added that all the rage Pakistanis feel is often misdirected with no one ever criticising the state of government hospitals or the lack of infrastructure and education.

“Unfortunately, we are here and the world has progressed. What we did at the Olympics, no outrage. What our country is going through, no outrage. Drama? Court! The whole country will go to court over a drama. There is no outrage over lack of education, and there was no outrage over the condition of Jinnah Hospital but where sex is involved, outrage!”

On Tuesday, after Zindagi announced that it would be taking down Barzakh from YouTube Pakistan on August 9, the show’s director, Asim Abbasi, said he supports the decision because he does not believe in jeopardising the safety of his team.

Taking to X, he tweeted, “No story of mine is worth more than the safety of all the beautiful, talented artists who came together to craft it. So this decision really is for the best. For all those who have showered us with love, I hope you enjoy the finale! And remember — stories never die.”

Barzakh, directed by Abbasi, known for his previous successes Churails and Cake, has accumulated millions of views on YouTube. The show features an ensemble cast including Fawad Khan, Sanam Saeed, M Fawad Khan, Salman Shahid, Khushhal Khan, Sajid Hasan, Uzma Beg, and Nighat Choudhry.