Zulqarnain Haider returns

Zulqarnain Haider the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, has returned home from London after assurances from interior minister Rehman Malik about the safety of his family. He landed at Islamabad airport on Monday morning and was escorted by security to Malik's office. Haider, who turned 25 on Saturday, had announced last week that he was prepared to return to Pakistan and resume his playing career. However, soon after that, he was reportedly reconsidering his decision after receiving threatening phone calls but later left an update on his Facebook page confirming that he would be returning as planned.

Haider had gone missing from the Pakistan team's hotel in Dubai on the morning of the fifth and final ODI against South Africa on November 8, saying he had received death threats from unidentified people seeking to draw him into match-fixing. He fled to the UK to seek protection and placed an application for asylum that hinged on the nature of the information he was able to divulge, as the extraordinary nature of his case appeared to fall outside the usual conditions required of a person seeking refugee status.

In the aftermath of his flight, Haider announced his international retirement and his contract with the PCB was suspended. A fact-finding committee subsequently set-up by the PCB to look into the affair failed to find any clear motives behind his actions.