Pakistani youths playing PUBG on VPN, PTA’s effort in vain

PTA says game is addictive, wastage of time and poses serious negative impact on children’s health

KARACHI:  Most of the young people in Pakistan are still playing ‘Player Unknown’s Battle Ground’ (PUBG) on Virtual Private Network (VPN) and Pakistani authorities cannot block such IPs running from different countries.

Recently, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) completely banned PUBG game in Pakistan— a popular online multiplayer game played by millions in the country — after “receiving complaints from different segments of society”.

The addicts of this game are still using VPN to play this game on their mobiles phones and computers. These Virtual Private Networks are also available free-of-cost on different international website and the Pakistani authorities including PTA cannot block such IPs in Pakistan. Most of the youths get higher quality of Paid-VPN, which is more attractive and safe.

The main reasons behind the blocking of PUBG were the suicide incidents in Lahore. The parents of those children asked the Lahore High Court to completely block this game in Pakistan as the game is addictive, wastage of time and poses serious negative impact on physical and psychological health of the children.

In its statement, the PTA said that cases of suicide attributed to PUBG game have also been reported in media. “Honourable Lahore High Court has also directed PTA to look into the issue and decide the matter after hearing the complainants.

In this regard, a hearing is being conducted on 9th of July 2020.” “In this regard public is encouraged to provide feedback through consultation-pubg@pta.gov.pk by July 10, 2020,” PTA further said.

Last month, a 10th grade student had committed suicide in Lahore’s Gulshan-e-Abbass Phase-II. The boy was found hanging in his room. The police also spotted a smartphone beside the body with the PUBG game app running on it.

The letter was penned by SSP Liaquat Ali Malik on the instructions of CCPO Zulfiqar Hameed. It mentioned that the online video game has devastating impacts on the mental health of the youth and two incidents of suicide have been reported in the city.

It stated that excessive violence triggers aggressive behaviour among the youth and they become addicted to the game. The CCPO said the game should be banned and an awareness campaign should be launched.

According to Pakistani IT experts, most of the websites including PUBG, which were blocked by the PTA, are being accessed easily through international VPN services and Pakistani youth can read those blocked websites through different VPNs.

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