Pakistani powerlifter Naveed Ahmed Butt failed a doping test at the Beijing Paralympic Games, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Tuesday.

It is the first doping offense at the September 6-17 Paralympics.

Butt, 37, tested positive for methandienone metabolites, a steroid, and received a two-year ban, the IPC said in a statement.

The urine sample was taken on September 4 in Beijing, two days before the opening ceremony.

"In accordance with the IPC anti-doping code, and after a hearing of the IPC anti-doping committee, the IPC ratified the decision to disqualify Butt from the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games," the statement said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2008)