After being released from Israeli custody, former senator Mushtaq Ahmad leaves for Pakistan.

Mushtaq Ahmad, a former senator who was arrested by Israeli authorities during the seizure of an aid flotilla in Gaza last week, has left Jordan for Pakistan.

“Thank God, Senator Mushtaq Ahmad has safely departed for Pakistan,” the Pakistani Embassy in Jordan said on X, adding that all preparations had been made in accordance with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar’s directives to guarantee his safe and orderly return.

On Tuesday, Ahmad was freed from Israeli detention and taken to Pakistan’s embassy in Amman, where Ishaq Dar verified his release. Mushtaq, a former senator, has been freed and is currently in the safety of the Pakistani Embassy in Amman. He is doing well and is in a good mood,” Dar wrote on X.

Ahmad disclosed that he was detained at Israel’s high-security Ketziot (Ansar III) Prison in the Negev desert in a video message upon his release. “I spent time in torture.” He said that he embarked on a hunger strike and was refused access to food, water, and medical attention while his eyes were blinded and firearms were aimed at them.

When Israeli authorities halted the Global Sumud Flotilla earlier this month, Ahmad was one among numerous people arrested.

As the UN issues a warning about a deepening famine in the enclave, the 45-ship convoy, which included activists and political figures, set sail from Spain to bring humanitarian goods to Gaza and fight Israel’s embargo.