PUBG ban in Pakistan after killing? Boy massacred family, cops want online game blocked

Is a PUBG ban in Pakistan coming? The police are demanding that a PUBG ban announcement be made by the relevant authorities. Pakistani police called for the wildly popular PUBG game to be banned after a teenager confessed to killing four members of his family "under the influence" of PUBG game. The boy named Ali Zain allegedly shot dead his mother, two sisters and a brother on January 18. He confessed that the PUBG game had driven him to violence as police questioned him on the weekend. Ali is just 18 years old.

The police investigator Imran Kishwar told reporters in the eastern city of Lahore that Ali was living in complete isolation in his room and was addicted to the PUBG game. Dawn newspaper quoted a Lahore police officer as saying "Ali fired at his family thinking that they will also come back to life, as happened in the game".

This is not the first incident. Recently, a 14-year old boy from Punjab province reportedly killed his entire family including his mother, two sisters, and brother in rage after playing PUBG. He has developed some psychological issues because of spending long hours of the day playing the online game, PTI reported.

There were a few more deaths that took place in Pakistan due to the influence of PUBG. Hence, police investigator Imran Kishwar has decided to recommend a ban on the game. PUBG game was previously temporarily blocked by the Telecom authorities in Pakistan after complaints about its violent content. PUBG game has also been banned briefly or permanently in several other countries, including India and China.

PUBG Mobile is an online multiplayer "battle royale" game where the last survivor becomes the winner. It is one of the most popular virtual battleground games across the world. There were several reports claiming gaming disorders surfaced on the internet. Gaming disorder is a pattern of behaviour characterised by impaired control over gaming (digital or video) and it has also been officially included as a disease in the International Classification of Diseases by World Health Organisation (WHO).