FO condemns mistreatment of flotilla activists, calls for release of detainees, including Pakistani citizen

Pakistan on Thursday condemned the “illegal interception” of the Global Sumud flotilla by Israeli forces in international waters and called for the immediate release of all detained humanitarian activists, including Pakistani humanitarian activist Saad Edhi.

A Foreign Ministry statement said Pakistan condemned “in the strongest terms” the interception of the flotilla by Israeli occupying forces as well as “the reported arbitrary detention and mistreatment of aid workers on board.”

Among those arrested is believed to be Pakistani humanitarian activist Saad Edhi, grandson of Abdul Sattar Edhi, the famous philanthropist.

“Pakistan demands the immediate release of all illegally detained activists,” the statement said. “It also calls on the international community to guarantee the safety, dignity and fundamental rights of those detained. »

FO said it remains in touch with Pakistani diplomatic missions in the region on this matter and to ensure the safe return of any detained Pakistani nationals.

Earlier in the week, organizers said Israeli forces had intercepted 39 of their boats in the eastern Mediterranean, while the remaining vessels continued to sail toward the enclave.

Ships from the global Sumud flotilla set sail for the third time on Thursday from southern Turkey, after earlier attempts to deliver aid to Gaza were intercepted by Israel in international waters.

Read: Pakistan and nine countries condemn Israeli attack on Gaza-bound flotilla

There were 426 people participating in the flotilla of 54 ships from 39 countries, with Sumud’s global flotilla naming 44 Turks among those on board the intercepted vessel, some 250 nautical miles (463 km) from Gaza.

The Israeli army arrested aid workers who were part of the flotilla carrying relief supplies for the people of Gaza. The arrested people belong to different countries. Among the detainees is Saad Edhi, who represented Pakistan and was heading to Gaza with his team.

The president of the Edhi Foundation, Faisal Edhi, claimed that Israeli forces had arrested his son, Saad, as well as other volunteers.

In a post on Meta, Faisal said that around 1 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time, Israeli forces intervened in the Gaza humanitarian flotilla near Cyprus in international waters and arrested his son and other volunteers.

“They were in international waters and Israeli forces have no right to arrest them. We don’t know where they took them,” he said.

Faisal had called on the federal government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take legal action against Israeli forces for the detention of a Pakistani citizen.

A day earlier, Pakistan joined nine other countries in jointly condemning Israel’s interception of the Gaza-bound flotilla. The foreign ministers of Turkey, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Libya, Maldives and Spain co-signed the statement, which described Sumud’s global flotilla as a peaceful civilian humanitarian mission aimed at highlighting the dire conditions facing Palestinians and called the Israeli assault on it completely unacceptable.

Learn more: Israel announces transfer of 430 militants from Gaza flotilla to Israel

The Human Rights Council of Pakistan also strongly condemned the attack on Sumud’s global flotilla and the arrest and torture of human rights activists, including Saad Edhi, calling the action a gross violation of human rights, humanitarian aid and freedom of expression.

Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under Israeli blockade since 2007. During Israel’s intensified attack on Gaza since October 2023, the territory has suffered severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies, with Israel sometimes completely halting aid deliveries.

A previous flotilla attempt was intercepted last month in international waters off Greece, with most of the activists deported to Europe.