June 20, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 15, 1429

DUBAI, June 19: Pakistan paceman Mohammad Asif will soon be deported from the United Arab Emirates after Dubai Public prosecutors dropped drug possession charges against him, an official said on Thursday.

The 25-year-old fast bowler was seized at Dubai airport on June 1 on charges of possessing an illegal drug while returning home from India after featuring in a domestic tournament.

“The case has been dropped against Mohammad Asif due to insignificance ... he will be deported as soon as the police finalises the procedures,” said Mohammad Al Nuaimi, the public prosecutor who handled Asif’s case, according to the online version of the local daily Gulf News on Thursday.

“It is definite that he committed the crime of smuggling and possessing 0.24 grams of opium as he was caught red-handed. However in certain cases and for a faster litigation process the public prosecution drops a case due to insignificance and deports the suspect,” he added. Pakistan’s diplomatic sources in the UAE told AFP that the paceman will return home on the first available flight. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), however, claimed they did not know anything about the proceedings.

The chief prosecutor in the case, Mohammad Ali Rustam, last week said the forensic examinations confirmed that Asif was in possession of the banned drug ‘opium’, the Gulf News reported.

“When Asif was confronted with the findings (results of the forensic lab), the cricketer claimed that he was unaware that it was a drug and alleged that he used the substance for power enhancement,” Rustam was quoted as saying.

The Federal Investigation Authority in Pakistan had said they will deal with Asif under their rules and regulations while the PCB also announced it will hold a separate inquiry against the paceman.

Asif, who has claimed 51 wickets in 11 Test matches and 36 in 31 One-day Internationals, was dropped from the team after being initially named in the 16-man squad for the tri-series in Bangladesh.

Pakistan won the tri-series beating India by 25 runs in the final on June 14.—AFP

Agencies add: Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif’s 19-day ordeal eventually came to an end on Thursday after the authorities in Dubai decided to release him from detention for carrying contraband drugs. The cricketer is likely to be deported to Pakistan on either Thursday night or early on Friday morning.

However, the Pakistan Cricket Board has said that it would hold its own internal inquiry once Asif returns home, but insisted that they still do not know all the facts of the incident.