Cricket Australia has reaffirmed its commitment to touring Pakistan but, due to safety concerns, stopped short of guaranteeing Australia's postponed tour to the country next year would go ahead.
CA said on Monday that it was 'passionately keen' to break Australia's 10-year absence from Pakistan and 'desperately hoping' the political turmoil in Pakistan eased to allow that to happen next year, sentiments that were shared by the Australian Crickters' Association.
Sunday night's postponement of next month's ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan until next year has ensured Australia's absence from the Islamic republic continues into an 11th year.
While CA has sent an Australia A and under-19 sides to Pakistan, Australia has not played an international there since a Mark Taylor-led team toured in 1998.
Australia has since had one tour, in late 2002, moved to neutral venues, and postponed another scheduled for March-April this year to 2009 and 2010.
Whether Australia will honour its commitment to next year's tour, which features five one-dayers and a Twenty20 match, and the rescheduled ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan hinges on the advice it receives from its security experts.
"There are safety and security issues in just about every country in the world that we play, with the exception of New Zealand," CA spokesman Peter Young said.
"Professional risk assessment says the risk is acceptable in some of those places. Unfortunately at the moment, it's not acceptable in Pakistan."
"What we're all desperately hoping now is the situation in Pakistan settles down and allows us to go back there next year. We haven't had a senior Australian team in Pakistan for a long time."
Young riled at suggestions that players were more willing to ignore safety concerns in India when chasing the lucrative money on offer in the IPL than they were for playing in Pakistan.
"I think that's an unfair observation about players. Basically the safety and security advice we've got about India is completely different to the safety and security advice we've got about Pakistan," he said.
"It's simple. If the expert advice says it's safe, we go and we're happy to recommend to players that we go."
"If the safety and security advice says it's not safe then we don't go and our track record speaks for itself on that front."
ACA chief executive Paul Marsh said the players had no problems with touring Pakistan.
"We're just looking after the safety of our players," he said. "We really hope the situation in Pakistan improves to the extent where they can tour."
Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke, who made his international debut in 2003, has not toured Pakistan.
"Hopefully I will be playing cricket for a few more years to come so I am pretty sure I will get the opportunity to go and play cricket in Pakistan," he said.