LAHORE:
A letter written to the Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) on Saturday sought a ban on the online game Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG).
The letter was written by SSP Liaqat Ali Malik on the instructions of CCPO Zulfiqar Hameed. He mentioned that online video gaming has devastating impacts on the mental health of young people and two incidents of suicide have been reported in the city.
He stated that excessive violence triggers aggressive behavior among youth and they become addicted to the game. The CCPO said the game should be banned and an awareness campaign launched.
A matric student had committed suicide in Phase II of Gulshan-e-Abbass a few days ago. The boy was found hanging in his room. Police also saw a smartphone next to the body with the PUBG game app running.
His parents also confirmed to police that they had arrested the boy for playing. In another incident, a 20-year-old second-year student at FC College University Lahore also committed suicide after being scolded by his parents 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 a long period.
He took his punishment so seriously that he locked himself in a room. The next day, when he did not open the door, the family broke it and found him hanging.
The victim also worked part-time to help the family financially and after work would stay busy playing late into the night.
On May 18, a man approached the Lahore High Court to ban the video game. “Gaming has a negative impact on children. They are becoming more ruthless and violent,” said the petitioner.
PUBG, developed by a South Korean company, is a 2017 survival game in which players are taken to an island to fight others. Multiplayer gameplay allows players from all over the world to compete against each other or in teams.
Published in The Express PAkGazette, June 28th2020.
