By IANS
Bangalore : Firdous Arshiya is all smiles as she and her family members prepared chicken biryani and several sweet dishes to welcome her husband Muhammad Haneef Sunday after his 25-day ordeal in Australia.
"He likes sweets and … various types," she said, declining however to name even one sweet dish awaiting Haneef.
The 27-year-old Indian doctor, who was working as registrar in the Gold Coast Hospital in Queensland of Australia, was held July 2 at Brisbane Airport when he was to board a flight home. He faced the charge of aiding the failed terror plot in Britain but was finally cleared of any involvement and set free.
Amid global interest in Haneef's case, soft-spoken software engineer Firdous demonstrated remarkable strength and presence of mind answering media questions for the last three weeks while nursing a baby girl born to her only June 26.
Haneef will meet the baby – whom he has named Hania – for the first time Sunday night.
He has seen her photos and told his wife that the baby looks just like him. He has also heard her voice over the phone, a happy Firdous told reporters Sunday sitting at her father's house in the upper middle class locality of BTM Layout in this IT capital of India.
"Happy!" "Relieved!" "It's like a festival" are the words she frequently used to express her feelings on her husband's return.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP), facing flak over detaining Haneef, now say they were asked by their British counterparts to hold him because they had found his mobile SIM card with another suspect in the terror bid, Sabeel Ahmed.
Sabeel and his elder brother Kafeel, who is believed to have driven the gasoline-filled jeep into the Glasgow airport terminal June 30, are second cousins of Haneef.
Haneef was working with Sabeel, also a doctor from Bangalore, at a Liverpool hospital before he took up the Gold Coast Hospital job on a four-year working visa. Haneef says he left his SIM with Sabeel as it still had some talk time left.
As Haneef's fate hung in balance, Firdous rose to the occasion steadfastly defending his innocence.
Her father Afshaq Ahmed, a businessman, had said early this month that she was surprised at the courage and strength of his daughter to face probing questions from the media almost daily since July 2.
Firdous too was surprised that she could face the media with such ease.
"I had to – I had no other option. I know my husband is innocent and charges against him are false," she said early this month when asked about her transformation.
Only once during these 25 days did Firdous use strong language to describe the AFP action against Haneef. "I never expected them to do such a stupid thing," was her reaction.
Otherwise, she confined herself to repeatedly state that Haneef was innocent and only thing she wanted was that his trial should be free and fair.
She was against Haneef being sent home without charges being dropped. "I prefer that he faces trial and comes back without any stigma," she had said.
With Haneef being cleared of charges and arriving here, it is festival time at the BTM Layout residence, though Haneef's lawyers say fight to get his visa, revoked by immigration minister Kevin Andrews within hours after he got bail, restored will continue.
"That battle will continue. But for now we are happy that charges against my husband have been dropped and he is coming home," Firdous said.