Games without frontiers: Indians, Pakistanis team up for eSports

When India banned the hit PUBG mobile game over its diplomatic row with China, Zeyan Shafiq's eSports team was suddenly left without players. So Shafiq, who is based in war-torn Kashmir, did something very unusual: he reached across the border to Pakistan.

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FILE PHOTO: A boy plays Tencent Holdings' PUBG videogame on his mobile phone at a cafe in New Delhi, India, September 3, 2020. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Rae Munavvar

2020-12-17 08:39:52

When India banned the hit PUBG mobile game over its diplomatic row with China, Zeyan Shafiq's eSports team was suddenly left without players. So Shafiq, who is based in war-torn Kashmir, did something very unusual: he reached across the border to Pakistan.

Shafiq, 18, feared reprisals over his move, but none came. It resulted in an unheard-of alliance between Indian and Pakistani gamers, forged in one of the most dangerous regions in the world.

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