ISLAMABAD: Former Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Senator, Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, has been detained by the Israeli forces from the Gaza-bound aid ship Global Summud Flotilla. Pakistan has demanded the immediate release of all humanitarian workers and activists onboard the flotilla.
The Foreign Office (FO) strongly condemned the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, comprising over 40 civilian vessels and carrying about 500 international activists to deliver much-needed humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, besieged by Israel.
The Pakistani delegation was led by ex-Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, who also delivered his last video message before being arrested by the Zionist occupation forces. Palestinian Action Committee and family sources have confirmed the detention of Mushtaq Ahmed Khan. However, the Foreign Office did not confirm or deny the ex-lawmaker’s arrest by Israeli forces. Sources said that only one observer’s boat had managed to escape, whose duty was to collect information about the Flotilla.
“The unlawful detention of international activists onboard the flotilla constitutes yet another flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law by Israel, and endangers the lives of innocent civilians,” the Foreign Office said in a statement issued here on Thursday.
This reprehensible act is part of Israel’s ongoing pattern of aggression and its illegal blockade of Gaza, which has caused immense human suffering and deprivation for over two million Palestinians, the spokesperson said, adding that the deliberate obstruction of humanitarian relief is a grave breach of Israel’s obligations as the occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Pakistan reiterates its call for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire across all Occupied Palestinian Territories; the lifting of the illegal blockade of Gaza; unfettered access and provision of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people; immediate release of all humanitarian workers and activists onboard the Flotilla; full respect for international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law; and accountability for Israel’s repeated violations of international law.
The statement highlighted that Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support and solidarity with the Palestinian people in their just struggle for the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination and for the establishment of a viable, independent, sovereign, and contiguous State of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar strongly condemned the dastardly attack by Israeli forces on the 40-vessel Samud Gaza Flotilla, carrying over 450 humanitarian workers from 44 countries. We hope and pray for the safety of all those who have been illegally apprehended by Israeli forces and call for their immediate release. Their crime was to carry aid for the hapless Palestinian people. This barbarity must end. Peace must be given a chance, and humanitarian aid must reach those who need it.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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