Australia's involvement in September's Champions Trophy remains in doubt after the International Cricket Council decided to push ahead with holding the event in Pakistan.
Players from Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa had all voiced concerns about playing the eight-team tournament in the strife-torn country.
But the ICC on Thursday confirmed Pakistan would host the event after the council's executive board decided against moving the Trophy following a two-and-a-quarter hour teleconference.
"The decision of the board is that the event remains in Pakistan," the ICC said in a statement.
Ricky Ponting's Australians are defending champions having won the title in India in 2006, but their participation in the 2008 edition would now appear far from settled.
Australia have not visited Pakistan since 1998, and scrapped a planned Test tour to the country earlier this year because of security concerns.
That series has been rescheduled for 2010, with Australia to play one-day internationals in Pakistan next year.
The ICC will send a task force to Pakistan to review security ahead of the tournament with that task force to deliver its report on August 10. CA is likely to withhold any decision on whether they will tour until after that.
"The fundamental principle driving our eventual decision will be based on our commitment to not sending players or players officials to anywhere that is not safe," CA Spokesman Peter Young said Thursday night.
Young said CA would continue to liaise closely with the players, team management, the player's union and the federal government about the issue.
If Australia do decide to tour, they may yet be forced to send an understrength team with the possibility some players may boycott the event.
Cricket Australia has already stated that players who decided against touring Pakistan because of safety fears would not face selection repercussions in the future.
Ponting and teammates Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden have all admitted reservations about touring Pakistan because of security issues.
Young said CA had argued the task force should include a player representative.
The task team will include ICC president David Morgan, president-elect Sharad Pawar, chief executive Haroon Lorgat, and principal advisor Inderjit Singh Bindra.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf will also be involved, with representatives of broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports, the ICC's independent security advisors and the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations completing the task force.
The eight-team tournament - this year's major ICC event - is scheduled to be held in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi from September 11 to 28.
South Africa, Sri Lanka and England had all been touted as alternate venues should the ICC have decided to shift the event.
As well as Australia, England and New Zealand had also raised concerns about security in Pakistan, which is battling militants in tribal areas where Washington has said Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants have created sanctuaries.
Pakistan's fate as tournament host was left hanging in the balance on Sunday after a security briefing in Dubai featuring all participating nations decided to wait for a teleconference of the ICC executive board.
ICC delegates at Sunday's meeting were briefed over security arrangements made during the incident-free six-nation Asia Cup competition which Pakistan hosted from June 24 to July 6.
After Sunday's meeting, an ICC statement said that while there was recognition that Pakistan had provided effective security for the Asia Cup and would do so again, "concerns were expressed about the potential for threats beyond the PCB's control".
