Engaged with international partners for safe, prompt repatriation of citizens detained during Gaza flotilla raid: FO
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 intercepted a flotilla heading to break the siege of Gaza and deliver aid earlier this week.
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.
The flotilla had begun its journey last month and ex-senator Mushtaq had been leading a five-member Pakistani delegation on the voyage.
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. Following the raid, they said: “Beyond the confirmed interceptions, live streams and communications with several other vessels have been lost.”
After intercepting the flotilla, Israel said it would deport the activists to Europe, without specifying which countries they would be sent to.
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