ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to lift the suspension on the popular online game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG).
The PTA had on July 1 temporarily suspended the game after receiving several complaints about the game being “addictive”, a waste of time and its potential negative impact on children’s physical and psychological health.
While announcing the short order which was reserved on Jul 14, Justice Amir Farooq directed the PTA to immediately restore the game. The judge also directed the authority to make any such decisions in the future after listening to the stakeholders.
A detailed verdict is expected to be released soon.
The order comes a day after the authority had announced that the game will remain blocked in Pakistan. In a statement, the authority said the “decision has been made […] on the directions of the Lahore High Court”.
Press Release: PTA has decided that online game Players’ Unknown Battle Ground (PUBG) remains blocked. The decision has been made by the Authority after a detailed hearing conducted in PTA on July 9 on the directions of the Lahore High Court.
— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) July 23, 2020
