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Queensland Premier favours apology to Haneef

Melbourne: Australian government should “take responsibility” and apologise to the “innocent” Indian doctor Mohammad Haneef, whose detention in connection with a failed U.K. terror plot was declared wrongful by an independent inquiry, said the Premier of Queensland on Monday.

Anna Bligh, Premier of Queensland, where Dr. Haneef was working before being arrested last year, said it was the duty of the Kevin Rudd government to say sorry as “governments take responsibility for government activity,” said the APP agency.

Ms. Bligh said the Rudd government should apologise, though Dr. Haneef went through the ordeal under the previous John Howard government.

Meanwhile, Dr. Haneef said he was hoping an independent inquiry into his case would prevent anyone else from suffering a similar fate and that his case would be the last such case.

“I hope the Australian Government as well as the police look through the report and make sure that no one suffers these kinds of things in the future,” an ABC report quoted him as saying.

Dr. Haneef, who had earlier said an apology would be “very handy” said it would provide a “healing touch”.

“I’m really not concerned about it. Indigenous people of Australia have waited more than 200 years now to hear an apology,” he said.

“But look, it would be a healing touch, and it would be very nice to hear that,,” he said.— PTI

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