Seema Haider from Pakistan and Sachin Meena from India seem to have taken the PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) game a little too seriously. Both claim to have romantically paired up while playing the mobile game on either side of the tense border.
Just like PUBG offers options to play the game on different terrains, the couple covered Dubai, Nepal, Pakistan, and India for their real-life adventure ride. The initial segment of the game requires the player to parachute into an unknown territory, and Seema did just that—she landed in India without a valid visa. In the game, players can shield themselves in abandoned houses, and similarly, Sachin provided shelter to his lady love and her four children in Noida, overlooking the probable consequences. Unfortunately, there is no chicken dinner, the customary prize for game winners, for both Sachin and Seema as they are vegetarians. Nevertheless, they have won the game of love and created a sensation in the Indian media. However, the blue circle, the dangerous playable area where armed players eliminate each other, is now looming over the Sindh region in Pakistan.
In the last few days, dreaded dacoit gangs in the region have released multiple videos targeting the couple. They threatened to harm the Hindu community if Seema, who hails from Sindh, doesn’t return to her homeland. They object to her following Hindu practices and taking her four children along with her.
“As we speak, there are 4-5 Hindus who are in captivity of these dacoits. Usually, they do not kill the hostages and release them once their demands are met. But we are unsure what will happen now, as for the first time, these gangs have sent out grave threats to Hindus," said Faqir Shiva Kachhi, founder of Pakistan Darawer Ittehad, a minority rights organization.
"The community is living in fear after the incident. We have approached the police to enhance security, and they are cooperating. However, we believe that the Pakistan government should entrust the duty to the army to eliminate these dacoits."
THE WEEK analyzed five videos released by different outlaw groups who made similar threats and demands. In one video, a youngster, barely in his late teens, is seen with a rocket launcher and a slung rifle. In another video, a group of men with their faces covered talk angrily to the camera. Then, there are individual videos where grenades and guns are displayed for effective messaging. The men in the videos threaten to attack and kidnap men and women of the community and destroy temples if the Indian government doesn’t return Seema. It has been learned that the armed men belong to the Jakhrani tribe, the same tribe Seema belongs to.
According to a local Hindu, tension is high in the Ghotki, Kashmore, and Sukkur districts of Sindh, as many Hindus are engaged in business there. These districts also have a significant presence of dacoits, he added.
“We are already troubled by forced conversions, abductions, and murders of the Hindu minority community in Sindh. Many girls are still missing. Such threats are not new to us,” said an activist from the Hindu community.
