LAHORE MIRROR (Monitoring Desk)– Online game Players’ Unknown Battle Ground (PUBG) has been unblocked in Pakistan after nearly a month, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority confirmed on Thursday.
The ban was imposed on July 1.
The PTA said, in a statement, that the decision was made during a meeting between the authority and lawyers of the Proximae Beta Pte Ltd, which runs the game in Pakistan.
Proxima Beta representatives briefed the authority on the queries raised by the PTA with respect to “controls put in place by PB to prevent misuse” of the game.
The authority was satisfied by the efforts taken by the PB and emphasised on “continued engagement and a comprehensive control mechanism”.
“Keeping in view the positive engagement and response of the company, the authority has decided to unban PUBG,” the statement added.
PUBG, which has been developed by a South Korean company, is a 2017 survival game in which players are dropped onto an island to battle it out against others.
The multiplayer game allows players from all over the world to compete against each other or in teams. Players attack and kill each other in the game and the more you win, the higher you rank. It has garnered 34.2 million downloads worldwide so far.
The Islamabad High Court ordered the authorities to remove the ban on the game on July 24.
The PTA, however, said that it won’t unblock the game. It said, in a detailed verdict, that it has the mandate to make the decision under Section 37 of the PECA. The section gives the authority the power to block access to or remove ‘speech’ from content it finds objectionable.
Pakistan imposed a temporary ban on the game earlier this month.
The PTA said that the decision was made after it received “numerous complaints against PUBG wherein it is stated that the game is addictive, wastage of time and poses a serious negative impact on the physical and psychological health of children.”
