The Board of Control for Cricket in India has apparently sought the clearance of its government for the Indian team to tour Pakistan in January.

The Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement that BCCI president Shashank Manohar assured PCB counterpart Ejaz Butt on Tuesday that his team wants to visit Pakistan as scheduled.

"The BCCI is expected to get the reply (from its government) in the next 10 to 12 days," the PCB statement read.

India is scheduled to play three Tests and five one-day internationals during its Jan 4 - Feb 19 tour to Pakistan.

Last week, the Indian government failed to clear a tour to Pakistan by its junior hockey team due to security concerns.

Pakistan has not played a Test at home in 2008 after Australia postponed its scheduled tour in March due to the security situation.

The International Cricket Council also postponed the Champions Trophy in September after five of the eight participating teams refused to compete at the biennial tournament that is considered the second most prestigious one-day event after the World Cup.

The PCB has said it would consider playing India at a neutral venue or possibly switch series as alternatives. Pakistan is due to tour India in 2010.

There have been 86 suicide attacks in Pakistan since July 2007, mainly targeting the army and security forces, according to statistics compiled by The AP.

The attacks have killed 685 civilians and 320 security personnel, while the identity of another 51 remain unclear. More than 12,000 people have been injured.

The militants resorted to suicide attacks in response to the Pakistan army's offensive in the northwest part of the country, and after the government's siege of the Red Mosque in the capital Islamabad killed more than 100 people, including foreign fighters.