As widely predicted, Zimbabwe Cricket has announced that the tour to Pakistan later this month will go ahead despite fears over the security situation following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto on December 27.

The itinerary has been tweaked and one warm-up match dropped, but Zimbabwe are still scheduled to play five ODIs. "We are definitely going ahead with the tour," Peter Chingoka, the ZC chairman, told reporters in Cape Town. "ZC has an obligation to fulfil its obligations under the Future Tours programme."

Zimbabwe arrive, as before, in Karachi on January 12 and play a four-day match in the city's DHA Stadium two days later. The first ODI will now be played in Karachi, on the January 21, as opposed to Hyderabad which was the initial plan. Hyderabad was badly hit by violence following Bhutto's death and was in danger of losing out on a first international match in ten years. But the Pakistan board has kept the venue in and it is due to host the second ODI on the January 24.

The remaining matches will be played in Multan, Faisalabad and Sheikhupura, the series ending on February 2.