PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf hailed the "great decision" made by the ICC to allow the Champions Trophy to go ahead.

Players from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England had said they would opt out of the tournament if it was held in Pakistan due to security concerns.

The ICC on Thursday confirmed the competition would nevertheless take place in Pakistan from September 11 to 28 and Ashraf believes his country will not let them down.

"It is a great decision keeping in mind that there should be unity and no division of the cricket world," he said.

An ICC task force will head to Pakistan prior to the tournament to evaluate security measures in the cities that will play host to matches - Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi.

"The ICC has decided to appoint a special task force which will visit Pakistan," Ashraf continued.

"We are committed to providing the kind of security which we have promised to the ICC and very soon the task team will tour Pakistan to ensure everything is in place.

"The task force will meet the top officials of the government and since there were concerns raised by some players of the member countries we will do everything to ensure that the best security is provided to all the stakeholders."

The decision was taken during an ICC Board teleconference on Thursday, during which the PCB offered assurances over the safety of competitors.

Concerns were raised over Pakistan's suitability to stage the tournament in the wake of a spate of bombings in the country, the most recent coming in June when a suicide bomber killed 15 people in the capital Islamabad.

Ashraf added: "Pakistan is a safe country to play cricket and the security firm of the ICC gave us 'A' grade in the arrangements made during the Asia Cup."

The Board of Control for Cricket in India, who are believed to have played a significant role in helping Pakistan keep the tournament, are also confident the PCB have taken "every precaution to ensure security for the players".

BCCI vice-president Ratnakar Shetty told Times Now: "We have always backed the Pakistan Cricket Board on the Champions Trophy.

"We always believed that they should be given an opportunity to host the tournament because they had taken all the steps necessary to ensure foolproof security."

Although Shetty could not comment on what transpired during Thursday's teleconference since he had not participated in it, he said the BCCI had stuck to their stance that Pakistan was safe for cricket.

"We were in Pakistan recently for the Asia Cup and we had conveyed to the ICC that the arrangements for the tournament were excellent and that they had taken every precaution to ensure security for the players," he said.

"There was a time in the past when the Indian government was also apprehensive about sending teams to play in Pakistan, especially in Karachi.

"But for the Asia Cup, we played and stayed even in Karachi. The arrangements made by the PCB were top class."

The ICC earlier on Thursday issued a statement confirming the tournament would go ahead in Pakistan as scheduled.

It read: "The ICC Board today held a teleconference to discuss the location for this year's ICC Champions Trophy, at the end of which it reiterated its decision of 2006 to stage the event in Pakistan.

"In arriving at that position the Board considered various security reports and discussed at length the concerns of some Members and stakeholders as well as the perceptions of Pakistan that may exist in some quarters.

"In recognising those concerns and perceptions, the Board agreed they needed to be managed going forward, both before and during the tournament."

According to the statement, the ICC task force will "ensure the effective implementation of the recommendations of the ICC's independent security advisors" while also liaising with embassies within Pakistan and other governments "on an ongoing basis to ensure effective communication and the management of any concerns that may exist".

The Champions Trophy is contested between eight teams, divided into two groups with three round-robin matches for each. The top two teams from each groups go forward to the semi-finals.

Defending champions Australia line up in Group A alongside India, Pakistan and West Indies, while South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England make up Group B.