ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Sunday said that Pakistan was actively engaged with international partners to ensure the safety and repatriation of its citizens detained by Israel in the Gaza aid flotilla interception.
“Through the diplomatic channels of a friendly European country, we have confirmed that former senator Mushtaq Ahmad is in the custody of the Israeli occupying forces and is safe and in good health,” read the press release issued by the FO.
It further added that Pakistan authorities have been advised that the ex-senator will be presented before a court and, upon the issuance of deportation orders, his repatriation will be facilitated on a fast-track basis.
The ministry’s remarks come after the former lawmaker was detained by Israeli forces while taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla on October 2, whose multiple vessels were carrying aid to the war-torn territory currently under Israeli blockade.
The ex-senator, who was leading a five-member Pakistani delegation, joined the flotilla alongside international activists and humanitarian aid groups.
However, the Israeli military intercepted more than 40 flotilla vessels, some 42.5 nautical miles (79 km) from Gaza and detained more than 450 activists aboard the vessels.
Tel Aviv has since faced widespread criticism from countries around the world.
Meanwhile, the FO recalled that the ministry “had previously coordinated the safe return of individuals who disembarked earlier. In this context, we express our profound gratitude to the brotherly countries that assisted in the repatriation of our citizens”.
It further reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the protection of all its citizens abroad and anticipates the completion of this repatriation process within the coming days.
It is pertinent to know that negotiators are set to meet in Cairo today ahead of talks aimed at ending nearly two years of war in Gaza.
The diplomatic moves came after the Palestinian group Hamas responded positively to US President Donald Trump’s roadmap for freeing the captives and administering post-war Gaza.
‘Treated terribly’
137 of these activists arrived in Turkey a day earlier after their deportation, with two alleging that Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg was mistreated during her detention.
The activists who landed at Istanbul Airport included 36 Turkish nationals, as well as citizens from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia and Jordan, Turkish foreign ministry sources said.
Two of them, Hazwani Helmi, a Malaysian citizen, and Windfield Beaver, an American citizen, told Reuters at the airport that they had witnessed Thunberg being mistreated, saying she was shoved and forced to wear an Israeli flag.
“It was a disaster. They treated us like animals,” said Helmi, 28, adding that detainees were not provided with clean food or water and that medication and belongings were confiscated.
Beaver, 43, said Thunberg was “treated terribly” and “used as propaganda”, describing how she was pushed into a room as Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 26 Italians were on board the Turkish Airlines flight, with another 15 still held in Israel and set to be expelled over the next few days — along with activists from other nations.
“I have once again given instructions to the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv to ensure that the remaining compatriots are treated with respect for their rights”, Tajani wrote on X.
A first group of Italians from the flotilla — four parliamentarians — arrived in Rome on Friday.
“Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza”, Arturo Scotto, one of the Italian lawmakers who took part in the mission, told a press conference in Rome.
“We were brutally stopped […] brutally taken hostage”, said Benedetta Scuderi, another Italian parliamentarian.
According to Adalah, an Israeli group offering legal assistance to flotilla members, some detainees were denied access to lawyers, water, medications, and toilets.
They were also “forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for at least five hours, after some participants chanted ‘Free Palestine,'” Adalah said.
