Taliban use PUBG features to attack Pakistani Police Station in Swat

On August 28, the Banr Police station in Swat was targeted by Taliban, resulting in the death of a police officer and injuries to two others. Following the attack, an investigation was launched by Pakistani police. They meticulously reviewed CCTV footage from various surveillance cameras to trace the freedom fighters involved.

Taliban Fighters in Swat have adapted features from the popular video game Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) to orchestrate an attack on a Pakistani police station.

They utilised PUBG’s chat room to communicate and avoid detection by electronic surveillance, making it challenging for Pakistani authorities to trace their activities.

Dr Zahidullah, the district police officer of Swat, revealed that while investigators initially focused on a motorcycle seen in CCTV footage near the police station prior to the explosion, their efforts to identify the nature of the attack were complicated.

The initial assumption was that a hand grenade was used, but this was later disproved, reported Dawn.

The Taliban Fighters would play PUBG to practice and motivate their group members for battle against the Pakistan state and would use the chat room for communication. Police boss explained that finding clues was challenging due to the militants’ use of PUBG for covert communication.

The investigation eventually uncovered that the attackers had used an improvised explosive device (IED) made from a power bank, rather than a hand grenade.

One suspect was identified through CCTV footage, leading to the arrest of additional suspects who revealed connections to a local Taliban group, Murad alias Rehmatullah, affiliated with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Dawn reported.

The arrested suspects disclosed that they maintained communication with their group and family members in Afghanistan via PUBG chat rooms. They frequently changed mobile phones and SIM cards to avoid detection.

Zahidullah noted that the suspects’ families, who had fled to Afghanistan following Operation Rah-i-Rast in 2009, remain involved in militant activities. Approximately 2,000 families of Taliban from Swat are reported to be residing in Afghanistan.