July 10, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 6, 1429

ISLAMABAD, July 9: Two Pakistani athletes, in contention for next month’s Olympic-bound squad, are likely to be pulled off the track after they tested positive for doping, the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) said on Wednesday.

Both Mohammad Shah and Noshee Parveen were among the top six national athletes vying for two wild card entries in athletics to represent Pakistan at the Beijing Olympic Games. However, they tested positive for doping offence and their cases will now be probed by an inquiry commission of the AFP.

“Both Shah and Noshee have tested positive for doping and the federation has formed an inquiry committee to decide on their future,” AFP secretary Khalid Mahmood added. “We have also decided that all the top athletes will undergo a dope test before participating in any international event from now on.”

Shah, a 110m hurdler, was found positive for performance enhancing drug Stanozolol (hydroxystanozolol) which is a clear breach of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) rules 32.2 (a).

Female athlete Noshee Parveen, a 100m hurdler, also breached the same rule of IAAF after she tested positive for Nandrolone (19-norandrosterone) with a level at 47.23 ng/ml, greater than the threshold of 2 ng/ml. According to rules, first-time offenders usually receive a two-year ban for doping offence and the same could be the fate of the two athletes in question.

This is the second time when a Pakistani athlete has been found positive in a doping case this year. In April, another Pakistani athlete Mohammad Sajjad, also a 110m hurdler, was suspended for two years for using performance enhancing drugs.

The AFP inquiry committee will hear the cases of the athletes on Thursday at the Pakistan Sports Complex.

The committee comprises Mohammad Yayha, Associate Secretary Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), Dr Waqar Ahmed, Chairman Anti-Doping Organsation Pakistan, Dr Maj (r) Lubna Sibtain, Member POA Medical and Scientific Commission, Wng Cdr Farooq Bukhari, Diecrtor PAF Sports Control Committee and Maj Mohammad Riaz, Manager Pakistan Army athletics team.