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Ijaz Butt, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, expressed his regret at the decision to AFP.

"It's a disappointing decision but it can't be helped. Nobody wants to play in Pakistan following the attacks in Lahore," said Butt, referring to the March 3 attack on the Sri Lankan squad in the city which killed eight Pakistanis and wounded seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach.

The 2011 tournament was to be held jointly by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as well as Pakistan, which was to have hosted 16 matches.

Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed insisted that the ICC had acted too quickly.

"It is highly unfortunate that World Cup matches have been moved out of Pakistan, but we have to be practical in life," Yawar told AFP.

"Two years is a long time. We could have turned things around for the better as we were organisers of the 1987 World Cup. Things always change quickly on the subcontinent."

Yawar said he was reluctant to comment on the effect the bloody outrage in Lahore had had on the decision.

"I wouldn't like to comment on that, but it has a bearing."

ICC president David Morgan said that the deteriorating security situation was a worry, but that the country could be compensated for the loss of its World Cup matches.

"It is extremely regrettable that the Board has had to take this decision given the passion the people of Pakistan have for the game of cricket and for the World Cup," said Morgan.

"However, our number one priority was and is to deliver a safe, secure and successful event and the uncertainty created by events within Pakistan created a huge question mark over our ability to do just that.

"That was something we saw all too clearly with the delay over the decision of whether or not Pakistan could host the ICC Champions Trophy last year. The event ended up being postponed and we cannot afford a repeat of that uncertainty or any form of postponement for this event.

"By making this decision now we hope we can put a great deal of any uncertainty to one side and press on with our preparations which, given this is cricket's biggest and most high profile event within our range of tournaments, are substantial."

Even before the attacks on the Sri Lankan team, Pakistan had been a danger zone for foreign teams.

Australia, which postponed a tour of Pakistan in March last year, forced their hosts to shift the series to the United Arab Emirates. Those matches take place next week.

Last month, the ICC shifted the eight-team Champions Trophy from Pakistan to South Africa after several teams refused to play in the country, where Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants are hunkered down.

Australia, who last visited the country in 1998, also forced Pakistan to play at neutral venues in Sri Lanka and Sharjah in 2002, a year after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and the subsequent US-led invasion of Afghanistan, where Australian troops operate.