LAHORE: The head of Pakistan's cricket board warned on Tuesday sporting ties with Bangladesh could be threatened if Dhaka refuses an invitation to tour the troubled country.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has invited Bangladesh to play a limited-overs series this month, but the tour is subject to clearance from the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

International cricket has been suspended in Pakistan since a deadly terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009.

PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf said he was hopeful Bangladesh would come, but he warned them of consequences if they refused.

"I think we will have to reconsider our relationship with Bangladesh if they don't tour us, but I hope such a situation will not come," said Ashraf, who took over in October last year.

Bangladesh sent a delegation to Pakistan last month to assess the security situation after the Pakistani government gave safety assurances.

In a bid to encourage the series to go ahead, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has offered to appoint local umpires instead of neutral officials, should the security situation put them off coming to officiate matches.

Bangladesh Cricket Board president Mustafa Kamal, who headed the delegation to Pakistan, had promised to raise the matter in the ICC board meeting in Dubai which is scheduled from April 14-16. AGENCIES