The Taliban government in Afghanistan has banned video sharing app TickTock and multiplayer game Pubji (PUBG) in the country. They say that these apps and games are misleading the youth. News from the BBC
. . . .The Taliban government has said it will ban television channels that broadcast immoral programs. Music, movies and television soap operas have been banned in the country recently and the apps and games have been banned anew.
Imanullah Samangani, a spokesman for the Taliban government, said the latest sanctions were needed to protect the younger generation from being misled.
However, Taliban leaders did not say when or for how long the ban would take effect. This is the first time they have banned an app in the country since coming to power last August.
Hamid Shuja, editor of the BBC’s Afghan Service, says tic-tac-toe and pubzi have become popular among young Afghans in recent months as entertainment has closed in Afghanistan.
The previous government of Afghanistan also tried to ban the online shooting game called Player Unknown Battlegrounds (PUBG) made in South Korea. But that attempt failed.
Internet use among young people has increased dramatically in Afghanistan in recent years. At present there are about 9 million internet users in the country.
Two-thirds of the country’s 39 million people are under the age of 25.
The Taliban banned the app on Thursday, the day of the bombings in four Afghan cities. The bombing killed 31 people and injured six others. The international terrorist group IS has claimed responsibility for the attack.
On August 15 last year, the Taliban overthrew the Western-backed Ashraf Ghani government and took power in Afghanistan. After the formation of the government, they have promised to take a liberal approach in various fields in the country. However, they have been accused of undermining women’s freedom.
The Taliban are known for their extremism. Earlier, when they were in power from 1996 to 2001, they had adopted a strict policy in running the state.
