A federal court in Brisbane restored Dr Mohammed Haneef's cancelled work visa on Tuesday, but he is not celebrating.
Instead, with Australian Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews having declared that the decision would be challenged, the family is preparing for a long drawn legal battle.
To avoid the inevitable media attention that would follow the judgement, Haneef and his wife Firdous Arshiya, along with their two-month-old daughter, have left the city. They are holidaying at the picturesque resort of Madikere in Kodagu district.
Haneef's father-in-law Ashfaq Ahmed and his wife's cousin Imran Ahmed Siddiqui spoke briefly on behalf of the couple. They apologised for declining to discuss the case. Siddiqui told
Hindustan Times
that Haneef's lawyer in Australia, Peter Russo had advised him to "keep quiet" at present, and make comments only at the end of the legal battle.
No information on when the couple would return was provided. It was not clear either whether Haneef would now considering returning to Australia. "He has shown interest in going back to the Gold Coast Hospital in Southport where he worked previously, but the final decision will be taken collectively by the family," said Siddiqi.
He admitted that Firdous was reluctant to let her husband go back. "We are very happy that the court has given him a clean chit by ordering the restoration of his visa, but the struggle is far from over. Let them file an appeal. We are hopeful of winning in higher courts as well," said Siddiqui.
He admitted that Firdous was reluctant to let her husband go back. "We are very happy that the court has given him a clean chit by ordering the restoration of his visa, but the struggle is far from over. Let them file an appeal. We are hopeful of winning in higher courts as well," said Siddiqui.
Earlier the Brisbane judge, Jeffrey Spender, ruled that Haneef's visa had been wrongly revoked.