ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Saturday former senator Mushtaq Ahmad, who was aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces this week, is in Israeli custody but safe and in good health.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, an aid convoy carrying activists from several countries, was intercepted by Israeli naval forces on Wednesday as it sailed toward Gaza to deliver humanitarian assistance and call for an end to the blockade of the enclave. The operation led to the detention of hundreds of participants, triggering protests in multiple countries, including Pakistan, and diplomatic appeals for their release.
The Pakistani government has said several of its nationals were on board the flotilla, which departed from European ports with medical supplies and food for civilians in Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis has deepened amid months of Israeli bombardment and aid blockades.
“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,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
It added that Ahmad would be presented before a court under local legal procedures and that, once deportation orders were issued, his return would be arranged on a “fast-track basis.”
The ministry said Pakistan had already coordinated the safe return of several citizens who disembarked earlier and expressed gratitude to “brotherly countries” that assisted in those efforts.
It said the government “remains committed to the protection of all its citizens abroad” and expects the repatriation process to conclude in the coming days.
The flotilla incident has drawn international condemnation, with rights groups calling for the immediate release of detainees and renewed access for humanitarian aid to Gaza.
