Back home after a 27-day ordeal, Mohd Haneef today said he wants Australia to apologise to India for his detention on terror charges and vowed to return there and fight to get his work visa back.

The Bangalore doctor, who returned here on Sunday after the Australian police dropped the terror charges against him, told a crowded press conference about the ordeal he and his family went through and the overwhelming support he received.

“I don’t expect an apology from the Australian Government or the authorities but I would appreciate if they apologise to my peace-loving country and citizens,” said the 27-year-old doctor.

However, over in Melbourne, Australian Prime Minister John Howard ruled out apologising to Haneef, saying mistakes happened from time to time and when dealing with terrorism, it was better to be safe than sorry. “Australia will not be apologising to Dr Haneef,” Howard told reporters in Sydney.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer also defended Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews, who cancelled Haneef’s work visa, and the Australian Federal Police. “What do you expect them to do, fall on the ground and grovel? Eat dirt? I mean, get real,” he said. Downer added that the case showed that Australia’s legal system worked well. “The fact that the charges against Dr Haneef were dropped by the Director of Public Prosecutions and Dr Haneef was allowed to return to India, I would have thought would be, pretty much, the beginning and the end of it,” he told reporters.

Andrews said on Monday that he was seeking advice as to whether he can make public the information which led him to cancel Haneef’s visa, so “people can see the circumstances in which the decision was made”.

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