Ireland tour to Pakistan called off after Karachi airport attack

Ireland's designs to play one-day internationals in Pakistan in September have been cancelled following Sunday's assault in Karachi which left 37 dead.

Cricket Ireland confirmed reports that talks had been at an advanced stage. 

"There had been a preliminary agreement to play games [in Lahore] subject to a security review," said a Cricket Ireland spokesman.

No international teams have travelled to Pakistan since an assault on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009.

Cricket Ireland added that the games had been subject to a "security review by credible specialists, and agreement from the players and staff, which would have been the next stage of the process".

"With the recent tragic events are Karachi airport, the series will now be deferred to a later date," concluded the Cricket Ireland statement.

Karachi has been a target for lots of assaults by the Taliban

The Pakistan Cricket Board said that arrangements for a three-match series with the associate nation had been close to being finalised.

"The Ireland team was due to play one-day matches in Lahore in the first week of September and lots of work had gone in to convincing them. But all efforts have gone in vain again," said PCB spokesman Agha Akbar.

reland memorably defeated Pakistan at the 2007 World Cup in Jamaica and the sides most recently played one-day matches in Dublin last year when the Irish held the visitors to a tie in of the games.

The 2009 assault, which killed eight people and injured seven visiting players, forced Pakistan to play all its home matches in neutral venues within the United Arab Emirates.

The PCB had two times satisfied Bangladesh to tour in 2012 but the short, limited-over series failed to happen because of security fears.

Pakistan last month sent an invitation to Sri Lanka Cricket for a short series in Pakistan after the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse assured them they would send the team.

Sri Lanka Cricket said it would think about and reply to the invitation after consultations but reports recommend no series will happen this year.