Asif's return hangs on outcome of urine test

DUBAI: Beleaguered pacer Mohammad Asif's return to home hinges on the outcome of the urine test he had undergone after being detained for allegedly possessing contraband drugs, Pakistan's ambassador to the UAE Ahsan Ullah Khan said.
    
Though Pakistani diplomats and cricket board officials are optimistic of Asif's early release, Khan made it clear that the cricketer continues to be under detention at the Dubai International Airport, where he had been detained on Sunday for allegedly possessing banned drugs.
    
Khan said that everybody was waiting for the result of Asif's urine test to come out, following which the local authorities would decide Asif's fate.
    
"I am an optimist and always hopeful," he said, when asked about the chances of an early release of the Pakistani pacer.
    
"I always see a glass half full, not half empty," Khan said.
   
Earlier, media reports in Pakistan claimed charges against Asif had been dropped and the pacer was set to fly home.
    
Asked if Asif had been cleared of charges, the Pakistani diplomat insisted since no charges were framed in the first place against the cricketer there was no question of dropping them.
    
According to Dubai customs officials, Asif was caught with 0.24gm of an illegal substance in his wallet on Sunday and the substance was also sent for laboratory tests.
    
Pakistan Cricket Board subsequently rushed senior official Nadeem Akram to Dubai and hired a leading legal firm, Afridi and Angel, to bail out the beleaguered pacer.