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In shocking news for PUBG Mobile players in Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ATRA), on Thursday, announced the temporary ban of PUBG Mobile in the country.
The decision was taken by ARTA on Wednesday after they received numerous complaints from the Transport and Telecommunications Commission of the Lower House of the Parliament.
A statement from ATRA, received by Pajhwok Afghan News said the authority consulted the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Telecommunication and Science, psychologists, parents, school headmasters, cybersecurity experts, and other relevant sources, on suspending the game.
No More PUBG Mobile in Afghanistan?
Omar Mansoor Ansari, acting ATRA head, was quoted as saying:
“Our team submitted a report on the issue to ATRA Board after carrying out a comprehensive analysis, and then a decision was taken to block this game on a temporary basis considering its social and security impact”,
Ansari also elaborated by saying that further talk and discussions are going on to find a permanent solution for this issue. He also instructed the ARTA officials to scrutinize games which have a negative effect on children in the country and prepare specific policies and procedures to regulate the video gaming markets.
Earlier The Indian government had suspended PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite on 2nd September under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2009. Honoring the Government's decision PUBG Mobile terminated all services and user access across India, to PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite, starting from 30th October 2020.
The decision to ban the game in India was taken keeping the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, and the security of the state, in mind.
Since the ban of the game in India players have started looking for alternatives. It would be interesting to see if the gamers and players in Afghanistan also do the same. Although the ban on the game is temporary in Afghanistan It would depend on the Afghanistan Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ATRA) as to how fast they come up with a permanent solution to this issue.
