Mushtaq Ahmad returns from Gaza Flotilla | The Express Tribune

ISLAMABAD:

Former senator Mushtaq Ahmad, who travelled to Gaza as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, returned to Pakistan on Thursday to a large public reception at the Islamabad International Airport, where supporters and religious party activists greeted him with slogans, flower garlands and applause.

Supporters from Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Central Muslim League, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan and other groups were among those present at the airport. A convoy escorted Ahmad from the terminal as he waved and addressed the crowd.

Speaking to the gathering, he described his trip as a mission to “save Gaza” and alleged that atrocities there have continued for two years. He claimed that 25,000 children in Gaza had been left disabled, and praised the flotilla participants — saying about 80 per cent were non-Muslims — for their solidarity. He said he had been detained by Israeli forces, brought before an Israeli judge twice and denied recognition of Israel while in custody.

Rejecting diplomatic solutions he called unacceptable, Ahmad said Pakistan must not accept a two-state solution, the Abraham Accords, or former US President Donald Trump’s proposed 20-point formula. “Palestine belongs to the Palestinians and its capital must be Jerusalem,” he asserted, while denouncing Israeli leadership as “terrorists.” He also criticised world leaders, including former US policymakers, and said they did not deserve accolades such as the Nobel Prize.

Ahmad urged mass mobilisation across Pakistan, announcing plans to establish “100,000 Pak-Palestine committees” and organising protests at press clubs in every town and village. He called for peaceful sit-ins outside the US embassy and said thousands of volunteers from Karachi would form a convoy to Gaza.

He vowed to hold Pakistani political leaders to account, accusing some of being facilitators for Israel, and urged all political parties to unite on the Gaza issue. He named political figures and questioned their stance, asking whether provincial governments were acting independently or in alignment with Israeli interests.

Ahmad also criticised the use of force against protesters, condemning any shooting at demonstrators, and appealed for national unity in support of Palestinians. He said he had travelled prepared for the worst, recounting that he had been prepared to sacrifice his life for the cause.

The former senator’s return comes amid heightened public anger and a series of solidarity actions across Pakistan over the situation in Gaza.