Aussies tour to Pakistan won't be affected by Lahore suicide attack

Sydney, Jan 11 : Aussies tour of Pakistan will go ahead as per the schedule and will not be affected by yesterday's suicide attack in Lahore which claimed at least 25 lives, Cricket Australia (CA) has said.

Expressing concern at the incident, Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said that cancellation or delay in the tour would mean victory for extremism.

"We are very concerned about the latest bombing. Any time that something that is either deferred or delayed or cancelled as a result of extremism, whether that's a cricket tour or whether that's an election, it's a victory for extremism," an AAP report quoted him as saying.

The suicide attack raises further doubt about the cricket tour following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto last month and subsequent civil unrest.

"We of course condemned the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, we of course condemn this bombing overnight. We condemn the extremism and we condemn the terrorism and we hope that Pakistan can move as quickly as possible to a better state," Smith said.

ANI