The Taliban is banning ‘PUBG’ for “promoting violence”

The Talbian’s PUBG Mobile ban is set to come into force within the next three months in Afghanistan, with the militant group accusing the game of “promoting violence” and “misleading youth.”

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The news comes via Khaama Press, who reports that The Ministry of Telecommunication will be banning both PUBG Mobile and TikTok applications in Afghanistan within a 90 day period.

The ban was first reported back in April this year, but this is the first time further details about its implementation has been announced. Around the time of the ban’s first announcement, the deputy spokesman of Afghanistan Inamullah Samangani tweeted that the game “causes the young generation to go astray.” Regarding the TikTok ban, Samangani stated that the app’s “filthy content was not consistent with Islamic laws” during a phone call.

The Taliban has criticised PUBG specifically for its violent content, but has condemned PUBG and TikTok both for “wasting people’s time” and “misleading” youths.

The ban comes in spite of the game’s popularity in Afghanistan, at times attracting 100,000 players in the country at once – thereby inciting a moral panic about violent video games due to its popularity among the country’s younger population.

Afghanistan isn’t the first country to see a PUBG ban either – with both Pakistan and India having previously banned the game.

The ban is just the latest of draconian orders brought in by the Taliban since returning to power in Afghanistan in August of last year. The militant group has also banned over 23million websites for their “immoral content.” Of course, Khaama Press points out, the Taliban will struggle to enforce these bans in the face of VPNs, which can be used to easily circumvent the country-wide bans.

Elsewhere in games, Xbox Game Pass is set to add Deathloop, Moonscars and more this month.