Mohammed Asif at Lahore airport on Friday. (AP)

Karachi: Pakistan fast bowler Mohammed Asif arrived home on Friday after Dubai prosecutors dropped charges against him of possession of an illegal drug.

On arrival in Lahore, where the Pakistan Cricket Board headquarters are located, Asif said he was innocent and had never used drugs or banned substances.

He, however, made a public apology for bringing shame to the nation. “Prior to this incident in Dubai they took two dope tests of mine in the Indian Premier League. Both were clear,” Asif told reporters.

“Even the tests taken by Dubai authorities came negative and there was no trace of any drug or substance in my body. I don’t use these things,” Asif added.

“I never took any drugs or banned substances. I have never used drugs in my life and I challenge anyone to prove I take drugs,” he said.

He also rubbished reports that drugs were recovered from his possession in Dubai. “It was no drug just a substance given to me by a local hakeem.”

The pacer said he was grateful to the PCB for not abandoning him in Dubai, where he was detained for 19 days. “I am really thankful to the board chairman, who took so much interest in my release,” he said.

The PCB said in a statement that the attorney general of Dubai had issued instructions to release Asif and send him back to Pakistan.

“The PCB welcomes this decision and is relieved this ordeal is over. We appreciate the professional manner in which this whole issue was dealt with,” the statement said.

Asif, who has played 11 Tests, was detained on June 1 while returning from India after playing in the Indian Premier League.

Airport authorities said they found him in possession of a small quantity of contraband, which was later found to be a recreational drug.

The PCB still intends to conduct an internal inquiry into the matter.

“As soon as we get the detailed reports about the case from Dubai authorities we will hold our own internal inquiry,” an official said.

“But we will have to see why he got into this mess in the first place,” he added.

Asif’s release came two days after a Senate committee on sport asked the country’s President and Prime Minister to intervene.

The PCB has decided to “get to the bottom of the truth” by quizzing the hakeem, whom the pacer blamed for giving him the banned drug as a “medicine”.

“He (Asif) told me that he had never taken drugs or banned substance in his life and no drugs were recovered from him at Dubai airport. We will even call that hakeem for questioning to get to the bottom of the truth,” Nasim Ashraf said after a meeting.

“We have formed a three-member in-house fact finding committee to probe into the incident and report back. Based on the committee’s report, we will decide if any further action should be taken against Asif or not,” Ashraf said.

Asif, 25, has also played 31 one-day Internationals and had just returned to fitness after six months out with an elbow injury when he was detained in Dubai.

Asif, meanwhile, also denied misbehaving with airport authorities prior to his detention.

“All such reports are fabricated and I will be taking up this issue with the people who gave this story. I never even spoke to any journalist during my detention,” he said.