Haneef's family meets Union Minister

BANGALORE: The beleaguered family of Mohammed Haneef, the Indian doctor detained in Australia since July two in connection with the failed attack on Glasgow airport last month, met Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahmed at a city hotel on Thursday night.

Ahmed, who rushed to the city following instructions from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, assured a weeping Firdous Arshiya, wife of Dr Haneef, that the government was duty bound to ensure the welfare of Indians living abroad.

''Our High Commission in Australia will be at hand to help Dr Haneef and ensure that he gets consular access,'' he assured Firdous.

After arriving in the city, the Minister had asked the family to meet him in a hotel. Firdous, accompanied by her uncle Imran Siddiqui, waiting for a visa to go to Australia, poured her woes to the Minister.

Ahmed left for New Delhi on Friday. He is likely to brief the Prime Minister about his meeting with the family later on Friday.