Haneef wants to pursue higher education in India

Even after an Australian court reinstated his visa, Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef is not planning to return to Australia in the near future.

According to Haneef’s relatives, the doctor is now planning to pursue a post graduate course in medicine in India.

“Haneef has no immediate plans of going to Australia either to resume work or study there. He is planning to enroll for a post graduate course in medicine here”, said Haneef’s uncle Iqbal Siddiqui.

Even as he was working at the Gold Coast Hospital in Australia, Haneef was pursuing a three-year-long post graduate course. Barely had he completed ten months of the post graduate course, the Indian doctor was arrested by the Australian police on charges of involvement in the Glasgow terror plot.

He was in detention for almost four weeks till an Australian court cleared him of all charges and allowed him to return to his home in Bangalore.

“We would be grateful to Karnataka Government or any other college if they offer a post graduate seat to Haneef in a discipline of his choice”, Siddiqui said.

Haneef had completed his MBBS from B R Ambedkar College in Bangalore during 2004 and worked in a hospital here for a brief while before proceeding to UK. From there Haneef had shifted to Australia for a three-year post graduate course.

Siddiqui said Haneef’s career had taken a back-seat because of the unfortunate developments. “He has come up the hard way after his father’s untimely death. His poor mother made him a doctor with great difficulty. But, due these false charges against him, his future has become uncertain. In this background, we appeal to the colleges and the Government to provide him a post graduate seat and help Haneef settle down in life”, he added.

According to officials at Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, which conducts entrance tests to post graduate courses in medicine at Government medical colleges in the State, the eligibility for admission to post graduate courses is a minimum of 50 per cent marks for general category students.

Candidates have to appear for the entrance examinations conducted by either the University or the Consortium of Private Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges, Karnataka (COMED-K).

Meanwhile, Haneef himself was out of the City and was not available for comment. But, his family has welcomed the Australian court’s decision to restore his visa. “It is a victory of truth. We had reposed complete trust in Allah and he has ensured us justice”, Haneef’s mother in law Farhath Jahan told reporters.