Home
Haneef's family struggles for words to express joy
Calcutta News.Net
Tuesday 21st August, 2007 (IANS)
It was happiness beyond words, a sense of absolute relief that could not be verbalised. Indian doctor Muhammad Haneef's family just savoured the moment as news came in that an Australian court had restored his visa.
'We have no words to express our joy. We are very, very happy,' said Afshaq Ahmed, father-in-law of Haneef, whose work visa was cancelled hours after he got bail from a Brisbane court last month after being charged with supporting a failed terror plot in Britain.
'Now everything is clear,' an elated Ahmed told IANS. Haneef and his wife Firdous were not available for their reaction.
He said no decision had been taken on whether Haneef would go back to Australia to work in the Gold Coast Hospital in Queensland where he was a registrar when arrested July 2.
'It is for them (Haneef and Firdous) to decide,' he said.
'We will not be suggesting to them whether to go back or not. We will support whatever decision they take,' Ahmed said.
In what were sweet words for the family, Acting Chief Justice Jeffery Spender of the Federal Court in Brisbane ruled that Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews was wrong in cancelling Haneef's visa.
Though Haneef's visa has been restored by the court, Australian Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews has said that this was not the end of the matter.
Talking to Australian media before the verdict, he said if Haneef's visa was restored the decision would be challenged.
Haneef was in a Brisbane jail for 25 days from July 2 and returned to Bangalore July end after the Australian police dropped terror charges against him.
He was charged with being 'reckless' in giving his mobile SIM card to his cousin Sabeel Ahmed while leaving Britain for Australia to work in the Gold Coast Hospital.
Sabeel is facing trial in Britain for not informing the authorities about the plot.
Sabeel's elder brother Kafeel Ahmed, a mechanical engineer, is believed to be the man who drove a gasoline-filled jeep into Glasgow airport on June 30, a day after two explosive-filled Mercedes Benz cars were found in London.
Kafeel died early this month of the 90 percent burns he suffered in the incident but his body has not been claimed by his parents in Bangalore because British authorities have not confirmed his identity.
 Email this story to a friend
Have your say on this story
|
 |
 |
- India tense as airports threatened
India has been on full terror alert with Chennai International Airport, one of the major airports in the country, under especially heightened security. [read story]
- Journalist slapped by Mohammedan Sporting's Nigerian player Okoro
Kolkata, Dec 4 (IANS) Two days before football legend Diego Maradona visits the city, ugly scenes were witnessed during Mohammedan Sporting club's training session here Thursday, when Nigerian striker Mike Okoro assaulted a journalist for asking uncomfortable questions. [read story]
- Dempo beat SBT 3-0 in Federation Cup match
Kolkata, Dec 4 (IANS) Dempo Sports club blanked State Bank of Travancore (SBT) 3-0 while Chirag United and Mumbai FC finished with a goalless draw in 30th Federation Cup final round group A league matches here Thursday. [read story]
- Two students assaulted by bus staff in Delhi suburb
Noida (Uttar Pradesh), Dec 4 (IANS) Two students were severely assaulted Thursday morning by the staff of a private bus in Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi, when they asked the balance amount of the money they paid towards their fares. [read story]
- Scarlett's mother given last chance to appear in Goa court
Panaji, Dec 4 (IANS) Slain British teenager Scarlett Keeling's mother Fiona Mackeown, facing charges of negligence towards her daughter, has been given a final chance to appear for a hearing on Friday by the Department of Women and Child Development, failing which ex-parte action would be taken against her. [read story]
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
