| GEO Sports | | NZealand set to call off Pakistan tour after attack | Updated at: 0803 PST, Wednesday, March 04, 2009
WELLINGTON: New Zealand indicated on Wednesday they would call off their tour of Pakistan after the deadly attack against the Sri Lankan team, fuelling doubts over the future of international cricket there.
The tour in November-December looks increasingly unlikely to go ahead amid huge question marks over security in volatile Pakistan, which is in danger of losing its co-host status for the 2011 cricket World Cup.
"We're not going, and I think that's pretty clear," New Zealand Cricket's chief executive Justin Vaughan told Radio New Zealand, adding: "I don't think any international team will be going to Pakistan in the foreseeable future. "Now we've seen that cricket can be a target... I think it creates a whole new set of issues and raises the security issue to a whole new level."
However, Vaughan later backtracked from saying the tour was off, issuing a statement stressing that no final decision had been made even if it appeared "very unlikely" to happen. "We will discuss the security issue with the Pakistan Cricket Board at the next ICC (International Cricket Council) meeting, and we are likely to look at options such as the use of neutral venues," Vaughan said.
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