I am fine, Haneef tells family

BANGALORE: The traumatised family of Mohammed Haneef, a suspect in the terror plot in Britain, breathed a sigh of relief after it was able to speak to him nine days after his detention in Australia on Wednesday.

"We were able to speak to him for a just a minute," Haneef's younger brother Sohaib told here.

"While speaking to his wife Firdous, Haneef said he was fine. He did not speak about any other matter and only told us about his health," he said.

"We now feel a little better that one of our family members was finally able to speak to him," Sohaib said.

The family had been desperately trying to speak to Haneef since he was detained at Brisbane in Australia in connection with the terror plot. Haneef's kin had spoken to Australian authorities and requested them to give them a few minutes to speak to him.

Though the authorities had earlier assured them that they would be able to speak to Haneef "soon", the telephonic talk got delayed, Sohaib said.

He said the family had informed Australian authorities that they would like to speak to Haneef again.

Sohaib said an Australian official who is in India to gather details about Haneef's background had not got in touch with the family so far.

Haneef's cousins Sabeel and Kafeel Ahmed have been detained in Britain in connection with the terror plot.