RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — World test champion South Africa will be heavily relying on its fit-again spinner Keshav Maharaj to level the two-test series against Pakistan as yet another dry pitch is prepared for the second test, starting on Monday.

The now-uneasy neighbors exchanged fire again on Friday, Taliban-controlled media reported, days after agreeing to a ceasefire and talks this weekend in Qatar.

The tenuous peace between Pakistan and Afghanistan appears to have ended after days of escalating conflict that came to a head as Afghanistan accused its neighbor of carrying out airstrikes on its territory on Friday.

Afghanistan has pulled out of an upcoming cricket series after three players in a local tournament were killed in an air strike it blamed Pakistan for. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said it would withdraw from November's tri-nation T20 series out of respect for the dead. The three did not play for the national team.

Afghanistan and Pakistan said they had agreed a 48-hour ceasefire on Wednesday, following days of deadly clashes between the neighbors and former allies.

As fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan escalated into rare, bloody combat this month, Islamabad pointed fingers at another adversary, accusing India of fuelling the conflict.But in recent months,

Pakistan minister said the ICC's statement gives an impression three Afghan cricketers were killed in Pakistan strikes.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani version of the Taliban, ramps up attacks inside Pakistan. In response, Pakistan’s government demands that its equivalent in Afghanistan, headed by the Taliban,