ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, who was detained by Israeli forces along with other humanitarian workers aboard a Gaza aid flotilla, has been released from Israeli custody, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed late Friday.
More than 100 pro-Palestinian activists aboard boats carrying aid bound for Gaza were taken to the Greek island of Crete on Friday after Israeli forces seized their vessels in international waters near Greece, flotilla organizers said.
The activists were part of a second Global Sumud flotilla, launched in recent months in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance. The ships set sail from the Spanish port of Barcelona on April 12.
An Israeli army ship later transferred members of the flotilla crew to Greek boats, which then took them to shore, where buses and an ambulance waited, Reuters footage showed. Greece’s foreign ministry said 176 people disembarked at the port in Crete.
“I am pleased to share that former Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, who was unlawfully detained by Israeli occupying forces along with other humanitarian workers aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, has been released,” FM Dar said on X on Friday night.
“I thank the Hellenic authorities for facilitating former Senator Mushtaq Khan at Crete.”
Khan arrived in Turkiye following his release, where he said the freedom of Palestine continues to remain the “real issue.”
“The real issue is the freedom of Palestine. The lives of 11,000 prisoners in Israeli captivity are in danger,” he said, urging Muslim countries to take “practical steps” to stop Palestinian killings.
In his post on X, FM Dar reiterated his condemnation of the detention of humanitarian workers abroad the flotilla as well as obstruction of humanitarian aid destined for the besieged people of Gaza.
“Pakistan has been and will continue to extend unequivocal support for our Palestinian brothers and sisters,” he said.
