The Foreign Office said on Sunday that it was actively engaged with international partners to ensure the “safety and prompt repatriation of its citizens” who had been illegally detained after Israeli forces earlier this week intercepted a flotilla heading to break the siege of Gaza and deliver aid.
Those detained by Israel also include former Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan.
“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 FO statement said.
It added, “We have been further advised that, in accordance with local legal procedures, [former] senator Mushtaq will be presented before a court. Upon the issuance of deportation orders, his repatriation will be facilitated on a fast-track basis.”
The FO said it had previously, too, 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 stated that the government “remains committed to the protection of all its citizens abroad and anticipates the completion of this repatriation process within the coming days”.
Several pro-Palestinian activists, former senator Mushtaq and Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, were captured by Israeli troops that intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla on Wednesday night.
Detained Pakistanis also included Mazhar Saeed Shah, Wajahat Ahmad, Dr Osama Riaz, Ismail Khan, Syed Aziz Nizami and Fahad Ishtiaq, according to an earlier statement by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
In a telephone conversation with JI chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman on Friday, PM Shehbaz had assured him that the government was actively engaged in efforts to secure the safe return of Pakistani nationals, including the ex-senator.
Flotilla’s interception and detainees ‘mistreated’
The Global Sumud Flotilla had begun its journey last month, with Mushtaq leading the Pakistani delegation on the voyage.
As the fleet moved closer to the territorial waters of Gaza, Israeli forces began intercepting it on the night of October 1, halting over 40 boats part of the flotilla by the next day.
The Israeli troops were filmed boarding and holding activists from several vessels at gunpoint. The flotilla’s organisers had equipped each boat with cameras livestreaming every minute of their voyage as a security measure against just such an occurrence.
After intercepting the flotilla, Israel said it would deport the activists to Europe, without specifying which countries they would be sent to.
The Israeli action drew condemnations from across the globe, with countries whose citizens were detained expressing concern.
According to a report by The Guardian, Thunberg told Swedish officials she was subjected to harsh treatment in Israeli custody after her removal from the Global Sumud Flotilla.
As per an email sent by the Swedish foreign ministry to people close to Thunberg, and seen by The Guardian, an official who visited the activist in prison said she claimed she was detained in a cell infested with bedbugs, with too little food and water.
At least four flotilla activists also said Thunberg was mistreated during her detention, with two members saying she was forced to hold an Israeli flag.
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