LAHORE; A sessions court in Lahore has handed a teenage convict a cumulative 100-year prison sentence and a fine of Rs4 million for the shocking murder of his mother, brother, and two sisters in Kahna, a case that horrified the nation in 2022.
Additional Sessions Judge Riaz Ahmed sentenced Ali Zain, who was 14 at the time of the killings and addicted to the online game PUBG, to four life terms instead of the death penalty, citing his young age.
The murders occurred in January 2022, when Zain, enraged after failing to achieve in-game targets, used his mother’s pistol to go on a deadly shooting spree inside the family home.
He first shot his mother, a lady health worker, while she slept, then killed his two sisters — 15-year-old Mahnoor Fatima and 10-year-old Jannat. His elder brother, 20-year-old Taimoor Sultan, was also gunned down after rushing to the scene.
Police investigations revealed Zain was an obsessive PUBG player, often isolating himself in his room. Hours of continuous gaming and frustration triggered the deadly rampage.
After the killings, he attempted to mislead authorities by disposing of the weapon in a drain and pretending to be asleep. However, forensic evidence and his suspicious behaviour led to his confession.
This was not the first PUBG-related tragedy in Lahore. Authorities confirmed it was the fourth such case, with earlier incidents involving teenage suicides linked to the game’s psychological effects. In 2020, former Lahore CCPO Zulfiqar Hameed had recommended banning PUBG to protect young lives from its harmful influence.
