Pakistan give up hope of hosting Davis Cup tie

Pakistan's Aqeel Khan has yet to play on a home surface this Davis Cup

Pakistan has given up hope of hosting their Davis Cup tie against New Zealand after 54 people were killed in Friday's suicide attacks in Lahore.

The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) had argued before the attacks that the tie should go ahead as planned.

New Zealand had already contacted the International Tennis Federation, asking for the tie to be moved.

And following the attacks, PTF president Dilawar Abbas admitted: "The situation has changed."

New Zealand is the latest country to have reservations about participating in sports events in Pakistan, with concerns raised following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March 2009.

606: DEBATE Is Pakistan currently a viable option to host sporting events?

That attack, in which gunmen killed six policeman and injured some of the Sri Lanka team, was seen by some sporting teams as an indication that Pakistan may not be a safe host nation.

It lost its co-hosting status in the 2011 Cricket World Cup and had to move the home cricket tour against Australia and New Zealand to the United Arab Emirates.

Pakistan played their last three Davis Cup opponents - Oman, Hong Kong, and the Philippines - away from home due to those teams' reservations about playing in the country.