Taliban bans PUBG Mobile game for promoting violence in Afghanistan

PUBG Mobile, the multiplayer battle royale game, has been banned by the Taliban government in Afghanistan. The free to play game with more than 1 billion downloads worldwide is already banned in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and a few other countries. And now the Taliban too has announced a ban over it for promoting violence in the country. In a meeting held by the Ministry of Telecommunication with representatives from the security sector and the Sharia law enforcement administration in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, the government has decided to ban PUBG Mobile. The ban is set to take effect within ninety days. According to reports by Afghan Media Khama, the Taliban has taken this decision as they believe that these popular video games encourage violence and have a negative impact on the nation's youth.

The Afghan Ministry of Telecommunication has instructed all national telecoms and internet service providers to carry out the ban as planned and within the allotted time frame. The Taliban's decision has even been criticised by netizens on social media platforms considering how the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan.

Despite being banned in several countries, it is one of the most popular mobile game titles played across the world.

Why was PUBG banned in India?

India banned PUBG Mobile in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown over its connection to Chinese apps. But the game made a return in a mellowed version called Battlegrounds Mobile India last year after the government’s approval. However, the government banned BGMI as well, stating the very same reasons. It has been over a month since the ban. Krafton, the developer of BGMI, said that it is working with the government to bring the game back. The return of game is yet to be announced.