PUBG to remain banned in Pakistan despite court order to unban the game

PUBG will continue to be banned in Pakistan, the country’s telecommunication authority (PTA) announced in a press release earlier today. 

This announcement comes after the Islamabad High Court ordered the PTA to “immediately” unblock PUBG four days ago, according to Pakistani news network Samaa. The court had also asked the authority to explain its reasoning behind the ban.

The battle royale game was initially suspended in the country on July 1. The PTA said it “received numerous complaints” stating “that the game is addictive, wastage of time, and poses a serious negative impact on the physical and psychological health of children.”

The PTA issued a press release today in which it said the game “shall remain blocked in Pakistan.” This press release doesn’t mention the Islamabad High Court’s order to unban the game. 

The PTA said that it had “approached PUBG management to inform [the PTA] about a suitable framework to address key concerns.” These key concerns are likely related to the authority’s earlier statement about the addictive nature of the game. 

The PTA has not specified which “management” it has approached to address these issues. PUBG PC has been published and developed by PUBG Corp. PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite, on the other hand, are developed by Tencent Games.

The PTA said that it hadn’t received a response from PUBG in this regard so far and that the game shall continue to be banned.