ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has set up a committee to decide on the Pakistan cricket team’s participation in the World Cup in India later this year, Pakistani media widely reported on Saturday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board is yet to get clearance from its government to tour India due to tense political relations between the neighboring countries. The International Cricket Council has marked Pakistan’s nine World Cup group games in the Indian cities of Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata.

“I received the letter about its [committee’s] formation last night,” Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Ehsanur Rehman Mazari told Dawn, saying the PM’s special adviser Tariq Fatemi had been appointed as the committee’s coordinator. Geo News separately reported that the committee would be headed by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

Mazari said committee members would make recommendations regarding the Pakistan team’s visit to India for the World Cup, but the final decision “will be taken at the Prime Minister’s House.”

India has already refused to tour Pakistan for the Asia Cup and the Asian Cricket Council has accepted Pakistan Cricket Board’s hybrid plan, according to which Pakistan will host the first four games while rest of the nine matches will be played in Sri Lanka in September.

The World Cup runs from October 5 to November 19.

Pakistan will play its first two World Cup games in Hyderabad against qualifiers before taking on India at Ahmedabad on Oct. 15. Pakistan will also play Australia and New Zealand at Bangalore, then Afghanistan and South Africa at Chennai before rounding off the round-robin at Kolkata with games against Bangladesh and England.

The ICC has said that Pakistan will not be playing any World Cup games in Mumbai and if India qualifies for the semifinals against Pakistan, it will be played at Kolkata.