Martin Snedden reads the latest news on terrorist attacks in the USA Photograph © CricInfo

New Zealand's cricket tour to Pakistan is on hold for 48 hours today after the overnight events in the United States, and possible repercussions if Afghanistan is found to be in any way involved in the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

New Zealand's players are in Singapore for a scheduled stopover, but they will wait there for another 48 hours until the American situation becomes clearer.

New Zealand's CLEAR Black Caps are scheduled to play their first Test match against Pakistan, starting on October 2, in Peshawar which is close to the Afghanistan border.

NZC chief executive Martin Snedden said advice was being taken from New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Ministry, but at the moment they were not able to provide a lot of information. He would be keeping in touch with them throughout the day.

"Given the current upheaval in international aviation, and the heightened tensions in the Middle East, we believe the extended stopover in Singapore is wise.

"If there is any risk that team members would be in danger in Pakistan then NZC will not hesitate to cancel or postpone the tour," Snedden said.

NZC has advised the Pakistan Cricket Board that it will be delaying the arrival of the team in Pakistan by two days in order to make the best possible decision in the interests of the players.

"If the tour does carry on, I have no doubt the Pakistan Board will make suitable arrangements for the players," he said.

However, Pakistan Cricket Board officials later assured the New Zealand Cricket officials, that conditions in the country were perfectly normal. They also held out assurance about the complete safety and security of the visiting team during their stay in Pakistan.

Unfortunately, New Zealand is not new to terrorist events on its cricket tours. Two tours to Sri Lanka have been affected by terrorist bombings.

The first, in 1987, saw the tour called off after a bomb destroyed a Colombo bus station while, in 1992, several members of the New Zealand team on tour came home after an assassination outside their hotel in Colombo.

© CricInfo