Saturday, June 7, 2008

Asif will find out fate on Sunday

No charges have yet been laid against Mohammad Asif.

Mohammad Asif will find out on Sunday whether he will be charged with possession of illegal substances or if he will be allowed to return home.

Asif has been in detention at Dubai International Airport since Sunday after authorities allegedly found a banned substance in his wallet. He made a statement on Thursday in front of the chief prosecutor though still no charges have been laid against him.

Sources close to the case confirmed to Cricinfo that the substance found in his wallet was a banned drug, though the urine tests conducted on Asif have come back negative.

"The factual position is that at the moment he is under detention. Asif says he didn't know how it got into his wallet," a senior PCB official told PTI. "The prosecutor has to decide on Sunday if there is a strong enough case and evidence to try Asif for possession of drugs. He is now under the laws of Dubai and we are keeping our fingers crossed."

The PCB, it is learnt, is still working through diplomatic channels to have the case resolved as soon as possible, though no Pakistani government official has yet become involved in the matter.