Pakistan will play series against South Africa and Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said on Tuesday.

South Africa declined to tour Pakistan due to security concerns and the PCB had not option but to play matches on neutral ground.

Chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad said the series against South Africa would take place in October and November and would include three tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match.

Fixtures are to be played at venues in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, with the series against Sri Lanka, due to start in November, to follow a similar format.

No foreign team has toured Pakistan since 2009 when militants attacked a Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in which six Pakistani policemen and a van driver were killed and members of the touring side wounded.