Pakistan: Militants use PUBG features to plan attack on police station in Swat
Sep 16, 2024
Peshawar [Pakistan], September 16 : Militants in Swat have adapted features from the popular video game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) to orchestrate an attack on a local police station, Dawn reported.
They utilised PUBG's chat room to communicate and avoid detection by electronic surveillance, making it challenging for authorities to trace their activities.
On August 28, the Banr police station in Swat was targeted by militants, resulting in the death of a police officer and injuries to two others. Following the attack, an investigation was launched by district police. They meticulously reviewed CCTV footage from various surveillance cameras to trace the militants involved.
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 militants would play PUBG to practice and motivate their group members for battle against the state and would use the chat room for communication," Zahidullah stated. He further 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 militant 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 militants from Swat are reported to be residing in Afghanistan.
