Marsh says Symonds should not be punished if he chooses not to tour

Symonds has voiced concerns about going to Pakistan in March because of the current unrest which followed the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

Marsh believes each player is legally entitled to opt out without being in breach of his contract.

"The players have the right to make a decision," he said.

The situation in the country is tense but we hope that normality will be restored in the coming days Nasim Ashraf, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman

"We want to reach a collective decision but the players obviously have that ultimate right.

"We would rather it's a one-in, all-in either way, but if a player comes to us and says that if the tour was to proceed they don't want to go, then we would support that and we believe the players are entitled to do that.

"If Cricket Australia decided the tour should proceed, the players will obviously then be faced with the decision, do we go or do we individually or collectively decide not to go?"

Australia have not played a Test in Pakistan since 1998, with their three-Test tour in 2002 moved to Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates because of security issues.

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If any individual player opts out of the tour, there is historical precedent which suggests Cricket Australia may take a lenient view.

In 2004, leg-spinner Stuart MacGill refused to travel to Zimbabwe on moral and ethical grounds, but did not suffer any punishment and has continued his Test career since then.

Zimbabwe are scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on 14 January for a five-match one-day series, which starts on 26 January, while Australia's tour is due to begin in March.

"We have received no official word from Australia or Zimbabwe and believe that both the tours of Pakistan are on," said Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf.