ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan arrived in Tunisia on Sunday to set sail with a global flotilla seeking to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, amid fears of starvation and disease becoming widespread in the Palestinian territory.
The fleet of more than 100 vessels, which will converge in the Mediterranean, brings 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. Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon, who are part of the flotilla, left Barcelona on Sunday vowing to try to "break the illegal siege of Gaza."
Khan, affiliated with the Pakistani Jamaat-e-Islami religious party, earlier said he would be part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which is deemed as the largest civilian maritime mission ever assembled for Gaza. Training for the voyage will be held in Tunisia from Sept. 1 to 3, after which Khan and others will set sail on Sept. 4. The cargo will consist of food, water and medicine.
"From this very [Tunisian] port and on these very ships, we will break the Gaza blockade," Khan said in a video message he posted on social media platform X on Sunday, carrying a large flag of Pakistan atop a ship.
