Lahore: Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza of the Lahore High Court on Monday delayed the hearing of the petition to ban the game PUBG in Pakistan due to the escalating instances of violence and murders caused by game players.
At the beginning of the session, it was reported to the judge that counsel for the petitioner was not able to show up due to an urgent matter. The judge listened to the request and called off the hearing.
Tanvir Sarwar, a citizen of India, in his plea to the court, stated that the addiction to online gaming such as PUBG is not a good sign for youth’s physical or mental health.
The petitioner noted it was the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2018 classified gaming addiction to be mental health issue The petitioner also noted that the use of video games raises anxiety and depression levels in players.
He said that in a recent incident, a young boy was believed to have killed her mother as well as three of their siblings under the course of playing.
The petitioner claimed the PUBG game has become dangerous for health and life danger to the players and their families. If the game was not immediately banned, enforced on the game, it would be detrimental to the young generation.
He claimed that there was no action on the part of officials of the government to prohibit PUBG despite horrific incidents of killings was in contravention of the Constitution. He said that a ban had to be placed on the game as soon as possible without delay in order to safeguard the lives of children in the generation.
The court was asked to immediately impose a block on PUBG by stopping its access to Pakistan. A federal secretary law Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority were named respondents to the petition.
