Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Asif will be detained in Dubai until Sunday, when the public prosecutor will decide whether he should be charged for possessing drugs or released, a PCB spokesman said on Thursday.

Shafqat Naghmi, chief operating officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board, told a news conference in Lahore that investigations into the case had been delayed until Sunday.

Asif was held at Dubai airport last Sunday after authorities found a suspicious substance in his possession.

"The results of the tests conducted on him and the substance have been received by the investigators but we can't say anything about them at this stage," Naghmi said.

"Our lawyer in Dubai is on the case and we just know that the matter has now been deferred to Sunday when something concrete will emerge," he added.

Asif has already been dropped from the Pakistan squad that leaves on Friday for Bangladesh to play in a triangular one-day series against India and the hosts from June 8.

The bowler, who has appeared in 11 tests and 28 one-day internationals, said the substance found on him was a medicine given to him by a local Hakeem (Ayurvedic practitioner) for some health problems, Naghmi said.