"The Indians want to restrict the length of stay of their teams in these two cities and want to play one-day internationals in Karachi and Peshawar instead of Test matches," said PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan on Tuesday.

"I have had a discussion with the BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya and he has asked us to see what can be done to avoid a long stay for the Indian team in both cities."

The southern port city of Karachi, which has seen repeated attacks by Islamic militants in past two years, and Peshawar, near the Afghan border, were both avoided by South Africa and New Zealand on recent tours.

Karachi was the scene of a suicide bomb attack in May 2002 in front of the hotel where the New Zealand team was staying which killed 11 French naval engineers. New Zealand returned home after that attack without playing a scheduled test in Karachi.

Khan said the PCB was seeking government advice on the Indian request.

"It is a sensitive issue since Karachi and Peshawar are major venues, but we also have to keep in mind Indian sensitivities," he said.

"One thing is for certain though: we will have matches at both places. Whether these are Tests or ODIs will be decided by Friday."

A three-member Indian cricket board delegation returned home on Monday after a week-long visit to inspect all match venues, facilities and security arrangements for the tour.

The Indian government last Saturday reconfirmed that the national team would tour Pakistan for a full Test series for the first time since 1989.

They will play three tests and five one-day internationals and a three-day warm-up match.

Shaharyar said Dalmiya had told him the Indian players had some preconceived ideas about Karachi and Peshawar because of recent events and were thus reluctant to stay long in the cities.

"The itinerary will be finalised later this week in consultation with the Indian board. But we have also asked them to understand our point of view about playing in these two cities," Khan said.

Khan said that if the Indian board wanted, the PCB would be willing to provide special protection units for their senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.