Pakistan Cricket Board President Lt General Tauqir Zia told BBC Sports Online that the squad for Australia may include some new faces.

BBC: Pakistan head indoors

They were also joined by the deputy commander of Nato's Isaf mission in Afghanistan, Lt General Nick Carter, and from London by the Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, Mark Francois.

BBC: Remembrance Day on the front line

He also held meetings with Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, the country's army chief, and Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, director-general of the ISI intelligence agency.

BBC: Holbrooke visits Pakistan hotspot

Back in the capital, I remarked to Lt Gen Nick Carter, the senior British general and deputy commander of all Nato's forces in Afghanistan, that despite its bustling street life the city seemed edgier and more dangerous than when I had first visited in 2003.

BBC: Afghanistan's security prospects after Nato withdrawal