Pakistan Army Retribution: Game based on Taliban massacre of Peshawar schoolchildren pulled from Google Play

Authorities in Pakistan have been forced to withdraw a gruesome computer game set in the Peshawar school where Taliban militants murdered more than 130 children in 2014.

First-person shooter game 'Pakistan Army Retribution' invited players to take the role of a Pakistani soldier battling militants in the school.

The game opens with a rendition of the Pakistani national anthem, before the player must do battle on the site of the country's worst ever terrorist atrocity, in which 145 people – including 132 children – were killed in the December 2014 attack.

Pakistan's Dawn newspaper said the game "failed on every front" while focussing on its gameplay features, and on Twitter there was outrage, with one user describing it as "bizarre and distasteful".

Punjab IT board chief Umar Saif said that the game was simply part of a campaign to support the army and increase interest in technology. He admitted in a tweet that had been "in poor taste" and said that it had been released near the first anniversary of the attacks as part of a campaign to promote "peace and harmony".

Google Play, which hosted the App, has declined to comment on the case.