The Hindu : Karnataka News : Haneef’s family celebrates Australian court verdict

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Saturday, Dec 22, 2007
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Karnataka

Haneef’s family celebrates Australian court verdict

Staff Reporter

The doctor is away on a Haj pilgrimage with his wife

BANGALORE: The chilly Friday morning brought double celebrations to the family of Mohammed Haneef, which has been fighting to restore his dignity after being hounded by the Australian police on terror charges.

For, the family that was preparing to celebrate Id also got the news in the morning that the Australian Federal Court upheld an earlier decision to reinstate Dr. Haneef’s work visa.

Dr. Haneef is on a Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia along with his wife Firdous Arshiya and mother Qurat-ul-ain and is expected to return in the first week of January.

Hanniya, Dr. Haneef’s infant daughter, is with his father-in-law Ashfaq Ahmed, who lives in BTM Layout here.

Elated

Mr. Ashfaq Ahmed told The Hindu that the early morning news was a very special one and it had been double celebrations at home.

“We knew that such an order was coming and were only waiting for it to happen. The family is very happy about the news,” he said.

On Dr. Haneef’s possible return to Australia after the court’s decision to reinstate his visa, Mr. Ashfaq said that his son-in-law would have to come back to Bangalore and take a decision on it.

According to Iqbal Siddiqui, a relative of Firdous Arshiya, the family was happy with the court judgment. “We are eagerly awaiting the return of Dr. Haneef from the Haj,” he said.

During the stay in Bangalore after his return from Australia, Dr. Haneef had been spending time with his family members and had not travelled much.

‘Shocked’

“He was so shocked at the turn of events (in Australia) that he chose to spend much time with his family. He had not even gone on vacation,” Mr. Siddiqui added.

‘Not surprising’

B.T. Venkatesh, lawyer of the family of Dr. Haneef’s cousins Kafeel and Sabeel, who were suspects in the botched Glasgow airport suicide attack earlier this year, said that the court judgment was “not surprising, but should have come much earlier”.

The Australian Government should now “absolve itself” by immediately restoring Dr. Haneef’s services and prosecute those responsible for implicating him in the crime, he added.

Pointing out that there was no blemish in Dr. Haneef’s service, Mr. Venkatesh said that he had only been held “guilty by association”.

‘Error’

Leaving his SIM card with his cousin could only have been construes as an “error and not a crime by any stretch of imagination”, Mr. Venkatesh added.

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