Dar confirms Mushtaq’s release after flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces

Former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, who was arrested by Israeli forces along with other aid workers aboard the Global Sumud flotilla, has been released, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed on Friday.

Mushtaq was part of a humanitarian flotilla bound for Gaza when 22 ships were intercepted by Israeli forces near the Greek island of Crete, and 211 activists, including a Paris city councilor, were arrested on Thursday.

According to the organizers and Reuters According to footage, 168 members of the flotilla crew were transferred from an Israeli navy ship to Greek boats on Friday and brought back to shore, where buses and an ambulance were waiting.

“Alhamdolillah, I am happy to announce that former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, who was illegally detained by the Israeli occupying forces along with other humanitarian workers aboard the Global Sumud flotilla, has been released,” Dar said in a post on X.

He thanked the Hellenic authorities for facilitating the release of Mushtaq in Crete and expressed his gratitude to the Turkiye leaders and government for helping him return to Istanbul to continue his journey to Pakistan.

“I appreciate the effective response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our embassy in Athens,” he said, while reiterating his condemnation of the detention of aid workers aboard the flotilla as well as the obstruction of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

“Pakistan has provided and will continue to provide unequivocal support to our Palestinian brothers and sisters,” the minister added.

Confirming his release, Mushtaq said they had been “kidnapped” by the “terrorist and Zionist” Israeli army in international waters, calling the incident a serious violation of international law.

“The Israeli army kidnapped us in international waters. The whole world should take notice. It is a terrorist army, and we demand that international bodies and governments take note of the kidnapping and torture of a humanitarian aid mission in international waters,” he said.

He added that although he and others had been released and were now in Greece, two members of their group – Thiago and Saif – remained in detention.

“We are in Greece, but two of our members, Thiago and Saif, are still in detention and held hostage,” he said, calling for their immediate release.

The former senator said the movement would continue despite the incident.

“We will continue this flotilla as long as there is a blockade and a siege, as long as there is a genocide. Until Palestine is free, until the right to self-determination is granted and until Al-Aqsa, Gaza and Palestine are liberated, we will continue this struggle,” he added.

In a message on their Telegram channel, the flotilla organizers claimed that the activists were denied adequate food and water and were “forced to sleep on floors that had been deliberately and repeatedly flooded” aboard an Israeli navy ship, describing their treatment as “40 hours of calculated cruelty.”

A source who asked not to be identified said that while 22 boats had been intercepted by Israel, 47 others were still sailing off southern Crete and planned to anchor there at some point before continuing on to Gaza. Each ship is carrying about a ton of food, medical and other equipment, the source said.

The 22 ships were seized by Israel on Wednesday evening in international waters off the Greek Peloponnese peninsula, located hundreds of kilometers from Gaza, the flotilla organizers said. In a statement released Thursday, the US State Department threatened to “impose consequences” on those who support the flotilla, which it describes as pro-Hamas.

Pro-Palestinian activists claim that “Israel and the United States wrongly confuse their defense of Palestinian rights with their support for Hamas.