Karachi, July 30 - Pakistan have given up the demand of hosting its quota of 2011 World Cup games at a neutral venue, the country's cricket chief Ijaz Butt said Thursday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman told reporters that the agreements signed by all the four co-hosts doesn't allow the provision of any of the World Cup matches to be held outside the Indian sub-continent.

'There's no such clause in the agreement among the four co-hosts that allows any match to be hosted at a neutral venue, so it's not possible,' Butt said in Islamabad after he was grilled by the National Assembly's standing committee on sports.

The PCB chief briefed the parliamentary committee on his ongoing legal dispute with the International Cricket Council's (ICC) over the world body's decision to strip Pakistan of its right to host 14 World Cup matches because of security apprehensions. The PCB issued a legal notice to the ICC but has now suspended the legal battle in a bid to reach an amicable settlement.

Butt told the lawmakers that the PCB is now confident of settling the issue out of court.

'We are looking toward an out-of-court settlement with the ICC and I am hopeful that we will settle the issue some time next month,' he said.