 "the Pakistani delegation on the Global Sumud Flotilla. (X/Reuters)")
Former Pakistani Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan was reportedly arrested by the Israeli authorities while he was leading the Pakistani delegation on the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla. The Israeli forces on Wednesday intercepted the flotilla and boarded the ships.
“Former Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan has been arrested by Israeli occupying forces. This is the time to step out of your homes and demand the release of Senator Mushtaq Ahmed and the volunteers from 44 countries with him," said the Pak–Palestine Forum on Xm, formerly known as Twitter.
“Only one ship has managed to escape, i.e., the observer boat, whose duty was to collect information and escape. Our second delegate, Syed Uzair Nizami, was sailing on the observer boat and shared the information regarding the interception of Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan’s ship," said the advocacy group.
It is pertinent to note that Khan’s arrest came days after Pakistan accepted US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace proposal for Gaza. Interestingly, there were also murmurs about Islamabad joining the Abraham Accords, which entailed normalising relations with Israel. Since the start of the war, Pakistan have been a vocal critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
The Israeli authorities block fortilla boats
It is pertinent to note that the Global Sumud Flotilla consists of more than 40 civilian boats carrying about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists, including Thunberg. The boats were heading towards Gaza, bringing humanitarian aid to the civilians stuck there despite repeated warnings from Israel to turn back.
According to The Guardian, the vessels were sailing in international waters north of Egypt on Wednesday afternoon when monitoring by Israeli authorities began. The Jewish nation eventually noted that the boats entered the “danger zone” or “high risk zone”, prompting the Israeli military to intervene.
Around 7:25 pm (local time), roughly 20 Israeli naval ships approached the flotilla and ordered the boats to turn off their engines, The Guardian reported. Live footage from the flotilla showed passengers seated in a semicircle, wearing life jackets as they awaited interception. The broadcast cut off shortly afterwards.
“Our vessels are being illegally intercepted,” a message on the flotilla’s Instagram page read on Wednesday evening. “Cameras are offline, and vessels have been boarded by military personnel. We are actively working to confirm the safety and status of all participants on board.”
While the Israeli authorities took control of six vessels, reports are emerging that some boats are still moving forward as Israeli naval vessels attempted to block their passage using water cannon. Footage broadcast by Sky Italia showed activists on deck being hit by powerful jets of water.
Meanwhile, Italy’s Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, said on Wednesday that his Israeli counterpart assured him that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) would not use violence against activists on board the flotilla. “The boarding was planned, we are talking about it … with [the Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar] so that there would be no violent actions on the part of the Tel Aviv armed forces, and this has been assured to me,” Antonio Tajani said to the Italian TV broadcaster Rai.
“We instructed our embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate in Jerusalem to assist all Italians who will probably be taken to Ashdod, but then will be expelled,” he added. While all this was happening, thousands of people took to the streets across Italy to protest against Israeli raids, with demonstrations erupting in Bari, Bologna, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Pisa and Rome.