After receiving complaints it was addictive, Pakistan temporarily blocked popular online game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). The step was taken after there were media reports linking the brutal, multiplayer shoot ’em up to suicide.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said it had received “numerous” complaints from people saying the game has a “serious negative impact on (the) physical and psychological health of the children” who play it.
Pubg is temporarily blocked in Pakistan
Meanwhile : #PUBG pic.twitter.com/TOf8P1KAjZ
— Irfan khan PTI (@Muhamma81056128) July 1, 2020
*Govrt of Pakistan banned PUBG*
Their parents to Govrt//: pic.twitter.com/wmUtQtzIXY
— 𝐙𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐑🕊 (@iiZub22) July 1, 2020
Can't wait for Pakistan to look like this after banning #PUBG pic.twitter.com/UTZluZiBrs
— Ducky Bhai (@duckybhai) July 1, 2020
Pakistan Government banned #PUBG
Meanwhile PUBG Players: pic.twitter.com/KI8HzwFfKL
— Bilal Soomro (@itsbee009) July 1, 2020
The PTA said it had suspended internet access to the game pending a high court hearing July 9. Earlier, a Pakistan newspaper had reported that police in Lahore had recommended a ban after a teenaged player killed himself.
The newspaper said police believe the 16-year-old boy committed suicide after he failed to accomplish a mission.
Often likened to the blockbuster book and film series “The Hunger Games”, PUBG pits marooned characters against each another in a virtual fight to the death, and has become one of the world’s most popular mobile games.
Pakistan’s move follows similar bans in Jordan, Iraq, Nepal and the Indonesian province of Aceh. The move has drawn mixed reactions on social media, with players dissing the move, and parents welcoming it.