KARACHI: A former Pakistani senator is set to join Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Portuguese lawmaker Mariana Mortágua on a multinational flotilla that will set sail next week in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid.
The mission comes as Palestinians in Gaza continue to suffer from nearly two years of Israel’s war that has killed more than 62,000 people, including children, doctors, health workers and journalists, according to Gaza health authorities and the United Nations. The UN has warned of crimes against humanity and reported “catastrophic levels of forced starvation” in the territory, with more than two million people at risk of famine.
The fleet of over 100 vessels, which will converge in the Mediterranean, is bringing together four regional alliances: Sumud Nusantara from Asia, Sumud Maghrib from Africa, the Global March to Gaza from the Middle East, and the Freedom Flotilla Coalition from Europe.
Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, affiliated with the Jamaat-e-Islami religious party, said he would be representing Pakistan on the Sumud flotilla, which organizers describe as the largest civilian maritime mission ever assembled for Gaza.
“This mission is entirely peaceful, non-violent, and rooted in humanitarian solidarity,” Khan told Arab News over the phone from Tunisia. “The aim is to break the blockade, establish a humanitarian corridor and stop ongoing genocide.”
Organizers have said the mission is the largest non-state humanitarian fleet in history, coordinated by grassroots groups rather than governments. In a statement, the Global Sumud Flotilla said its “allegiance is to justice, freedom, and the sanctity of human life.”
Training for the voyage will be held in Tunisia from September 1–3, after which Khan and other participants are due to set sail on September 4. The cargo will consist of food, water and medicine.
“While the quantity may be symbolic, the true aim is to break the blockade and awaken the global conscience,” Khan said, adding that the flotilla’s position was “fully legal” as it would travel through international waters.
“Our destination is Gaza’s territorial waters. We will have no engagement or interaction with Israel and from a legal standpoint, our position is sound.”
The Pakistani delegation was flagged off earlier this week at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur attended by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Khan said he is currently the only Pakistani participant, as other members are still awaiting visas.
The flotilla builds on more than a decade of similar attempts to challenge Israel’s maritime blockade. In June this year, Thunberg sailed from Sicily with humanitarian supplies on another Freedom Flotilla vessel, the Madleen, which was intercepted and seized by Israeli forces in international waters.
Khan said he and other participants were prepared for the risks, recalling blockades and attacks on past flotillas, including the deadly 2010 raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara that left 10 activists dead.
“There are three possible outcomes,” he said. “We either reach Gaza successfully, we are intercepted and deported, or we are attacked. We are risking our lives deliberately, not for fame, but for justice.”
