Lahore:
A letter written to the Inspector General of Police Punjab (IGP) on Saturday requested a ban on the online game Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG).
The letter was written by SSP Liaquat Ali Malik on the instructions of CCPO Zulfiqar Hameed. She stated that online video gaming has devastating effects on the mental health of young people and two suicide incidents were reported in the city.
She stated that excessive violence leads to aggressive behavior among young people and they become addicted to the game. The CCPO said the game should be banned and an awareness campaign launched.
A college student in Gulshan Abbas Phase II committed suicide a few days ago. The boy was found hanged in his room. The police also spotted a smartphone next to the body running the PUBG game app.
His parents also confirmed to the police that they arrested the boy because he played the game. In another incident, a 20-year-old second-year student of FC College Lahore also reportedly committed suicide after his parents scolded him for playing PUBG. The victim, identified as Jonty Joseph, lived in North Cantonment. On the day of the incident, his father reportedly scolded him for playing PUBG for too long.
He took the punishment so seriously that he locked himself inside the room. The next day, when he did not open the door, the family broke it down and found him hanged.
The victim also worked part-time to help the family financially and after work, she remained busy playing the game late at night.
On May 18, a man approached the Lahore High Court to ban the video game. “The game has a negative impact on children. They have become more cruel and violent,” the petitioner asserted.
PUBG, developed by a South Korean company, is a 2017 survival game in which players are dropped on an island to do battle against others. The multiplayer game allows players from all over the world to compete against each other or in teams.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 28y2020.