Pakistan's Zulqarnain Haider back home after security assurances

Runaway Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider returned home from London on Monday after being assured by the government he would be safe in Pakistan.

The wicketkeeper, who had left the team hotel in Dubai last  November during a one-day series against South Africa claiming he had received death threats for refusing to take part in match fixing, arrived in Islamabad on Monday and was whisked away by security personnel without speaking to the media.

The 24-year-old had applied for asylum in Britain but after recently meeting with Pakistan's interior minister, Rehman Malik, he said he would return home and withdrew his application with the British home office.

Malik said on Sunday he had spoken to Haider and given him assurances he would receive adequate security.

"I spoke to Zulqarnain (on Sunday) on telephone and reassured him he and his family will be perfectly safe in Pakistan," Malik told reporters.

Malik said that the Scotland Yard were also looking into the fresh death threats Haider said he had received last week.

The Pakistan Cricket Board, who terminated his contract soon after he fled the team hotel and also held back his match fees, has said he will also have to go through a disciplinary process for breaching the players' code of conduct and his contractual obligations by leaving the team without informing management.