England have withdrawn their men's and women's teams from series in Pakistan that were due to take place next month.

The men were set to make their first trip to Pakistan since 2005, while the women had never before played there.

It follows New Zealand's men abandoning their tour of Pakistan on Friday.

An England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) statement said: "We know there are increasing concerns about travelling to the region. We believe that going ahead will add further pressure to a playing group who have already coped with a long period of operating in restricted Covid environments."

England's men were using the Pakistan trip as preparation for the T20 World Cup with fixtures on October 13 and 14 in Rawalpindi that were also double-headers with the women. The women’s team were then due to play one-day internationals on October 17, 19 and 21.

The ECB statement added: "There is the added complexity for our men's T20 squad. We believe that touring under these conditions will not be ideal preparation for the T20 World Cup, where performing well remains a top priority for 2021. "We understand this decision will be a significant disappointment to the Pakistan Cricket Board, who have worked tirelessly to host the return of international cricket in their country."

No international cricket was played in Pakistan for six years following an attack on the Sri Lanka team by gunmen in 2009, with Pakistan holding the majority of their home matches in the United Arab Emirates. Touring teams began to return in 2015 and Pakistan hosted their first home men's Test for 12 years when Sri Lanka travelled in 2019.

England players have taken part in Pakistan Super League games in Pakistan and the South Africa men's team toured earlier this year. The only non-Asian women's team Pakistan have ever hosted are the West Indies and the Netherlands.

Their last home fixtures were against Bangladesh in the latter part of 2019. Pakistan Cricket Board chair Ramiz Raja said: "We have gone out of our way to accommodate international sides and I'm extremely disappointed – as are the fans.

"It's a small cricket fraternity that we have and we were expecting England to be a little bit more responsible. We are hurt, but forward we shall move."

“Our players were excited about the prospect of a historic tour for England women to Pakistan,” Clare Connor, the ECB's managing director of women's cricket, said. “To take international women's cricket to that part of the world would have been something they were very much looking forward to and would have been proud of."

Pakistan toured England in both 2020 and 2021, amid the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020 in particular, Pakistan agreed to strict bio-secure conditions in order to play in the UK. England's men are scheduled to play three Tests in Pakistan at the end of 2022.

The ECB said that it wanted to emphasise an ongoing commitment to our main touring plans in Pakistan for 2022.