The tour is in doubt after a bomb attack in Karachi forced New Zealand to abandon their tour earlier this month just hours before the start of a Test match.

 Is Pakistan becoming impossible to tour?

Australian captain Steve Waugh and teammate Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath have all indicated that they believe it is too dangerous to the team to travel to Pakistan.

The series could be played at a neutral venue, with Sharjah, Morocco and Bangladesh put forward as possible alternatives.

But Akram believes it is too early to talk about cancelling the tour.

"I know it is difficult for them at the moment. I can understand what they are saying.

"It is very unfortunate what happened, it was a trauma for everyone, but I would say allow things to settle down, there are still six months to go before the tour," he said.

If Australia refuse to go ahead with the tour, the financial consequences for the Pakistan Cricket Board could be dire.

The PCB claims they have lost $20-$25 million in the last two years because of cancelled series and fears have been experseed that the Board could go bankrupt.

They have asked the International Cricket Council for compensation, and are also trying to offset the problem by negotiating a sponsorship deal with the Al-Raee group of Saudi Arabia.

Akram said the Karachi attack had been a frightening experince for both sets of players.

"I could not get the pictures of the blast site out of my mind for three days, but in today's world these things happen," he added.