The turmoil in Pakistan following former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination has left country's Australian cricket coach Geoff Lawson in two minds on whether to return there at the end of his Christmas holiday.
Lawson is currently in Sydney with his family to celebrate the holiday season after a gruelling tour of India and said he is awaiting feedback on the situation there before deciding on returning to his base in Lahore.
"I'm making informal investigations with people I know in Pakistan to get their opinions. I've sent a few e-mails this morning just to people I know in Pakistan in different areas to get their opinions," Lawson was quoted in a report by Australian Associated Press, a news agency in Melbourne, on Friday.
"I'm very open (to what they say) and I'm more likely to take into account what they've got to say rather than any officials. I'm just seeking advice, I'm not pre-judging anything," he added.
Lawson was appointed just five months ago on a two-year contract after the death of incumbent Bob Woolmer during the World Cup.
The Australian said he would not base his decision on media reports and hoped that the troubled nation's love for cricket would "exempt" visiting sides and foreign appointees from any violence.
"Cricket is almost exempt from any sort of action because it's separate from the rest of society. That's why they're so obsessed by the sport, it's the one sport that represents their country in many ways and that's why they're very serious about it," he explained.
Although unsure whether Australia would make the trip to Pakistan after Bhutto's assassination saw the country plunge into chaos, Lawson was confident about Zimbabwe coming to take on Shoaib Malik's men.
"I think Zimbabwe will be coming. Whatever's happening in Pakistan will be better than whatever's happening in Zimbabwe," he quipped.
