ISLAMABAD The Pakistan government denied permission on Friday for its hockey team to play in a four-nation tournament in India next month due to security concerns.

Pakistan was due to compete with Germany, the Netherlands and India from January 31 to February 9 in the Indian city of Chandigarh.

`We feel it will not be safe for our players to play in India and that`s why we have not given permission to Pakistan Hockey Federation to compete in a four-nation tournament,` sports minister Aftab Jilani told The Associated Press. `The time is not right to allow our hockey team players to go to India.`

`When the situation normalises between the two countries only then we can see whether to send our sports teams to India or not,` Jilani said.

The minister said that he had consulted Friday with PHF officials, including Pakistan President Qasim Zia and secretary Asif Bajwa before deciding against sending the hockey team to India.

`We held a meeting today with all the top officials of PHF before reaching the decision,` Jilani said.

India has blamed the attacks on elements in Pakistan, heightening tensions between the two countries, and New Delhi last month refused its cricketers permission to play a scheduled Test series across the border.

`We accept the decision and are bound by it. We hope that once relations are normalised, we will see a revival of Indo-Pak hockey, which is a major attraction,` Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Asif Bajwa told AFP.

Meanwhile, New Zealand has accepted India`s invitation to replace Pakistan for the tournament, according to media reports.

The tournament will also feature reigning world and Olympic champions Germany and fourth-ranked Netherlands.

`We were keen on getting a good replacement for Pakistan, and New Zealand will make the competition even tougher,` tournament organiser Pargat Singh, a former India captain, told the Times of India newspaper.

The report came as Pakistan confirmed it would not take part, saying the government had refused to clear the team to go to India following the deadly Mumbai attacks in November.

The hockey tournament gives India a chance to test its mettle against three top teams as the eight-time Olympic champions rebuild after failing to qualify for the Beijing Games last August.

Germany won the gold in Beijing with a 1-0 win over Spain in the final, while the formidable Dutch finished fourth after losing to Australia in the bronze medal play-off.

New Zealand claimed seventh place at the Olympics with a 4-2 win over Pakistan in the classification round.

The next major world event for Germany and the Netherlands is the Champions Trophy in Melbourne in November. India and New Zealand did not qualify for the elite six-nation tournament.

India are scheduled to tour New Zealand for a four-match series in February and take part in the Asia Cup in Dubai in May.