Mehr Sher (@musher_01) profile picture

Award-winning investigative journalist🕵🏻‍♀️✍🏼 | AP @ajfaultlines @aljazeeraenglish | Also freelance muckraking🪏| Got a story tip? DM | D.C.📍

Washington, DC
Joined January 2015
Photo by Mehr Sher (@musher_01)Photo by Mehr Sher (@musher_01)Photo by Mehr Sher (@musher_01)Photo by Mehr Sher (@musher_01)Photo by Mehr Sher (@musher_01)Photo by Mehr Sher (@musher_01)Photo by Mehr Sher (@musher_01)Photo by Mehr Sher (@musher_01)Photo by Mehr Sher (@musher_01)Photo by Mehr Sher (@musher_01)
My latest investigation is out. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a 13 y/o died days after being shot during protests against the removal of PTI’s provincial government. Our reporting investigates the human toll & examines the consequences for democracy amid a virtual media blackout there.
⚡️NEW at @DropSiteNews: Violent Crackdown in Northwest Pakistan Aims to Neutralize Party of Imran Khan The Pakistani government’s removal of the country’s last opposition provincial government is the latest stage in a long-running confrontation between the military and former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Story by @musher_01 dropsitenews.com/p/pakistan-…
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Ali Wazir & Mahrang Baloch have also been put through a judicial process which in no way meets the requirements of a fair trial.People turn to the judiciary for relief & where the justice system repeatedly fails its people, inevitably chaos follows.
PAKISTAN: Responding to the conviction and ten-year imprisonment of Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha today by the Anti-Terrorism Court in Islamabad, Yasmine Ahmed, Senior Director for Regional Human Rights Impact at Amnesty International, said: “These convictions are an indictment of Pakistan’s justice system. This was not just Imaan and Hadi on trial, it was a test of the judiciary’s ability to uphold the principles of justice and the right to fair trial. It has failed that test miserably. It is clear that these ‘anti-terrorism’ charges are being used to punish Imaan and Hadi for their human rights advocacy.” Read more here: amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2…
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Mehr Sher retweeted
🇦🇫🇵🇰 Clashes on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan killed one person and injured five others, a Pakistani official said on Wednesday, accusing the Afghan Taliban of firing at civilian houses and a market in Pakistan’s Waziristan region on Tuesday. He added that Pakistani forces would respond “effectively and heavily” to the attack. Afghan’s Taliban government said Pakistan carried out four drone attacks on the district commissioner’s office and nearby security facilities in Paktika province, and Afghan defense ministry spokesperson Sedeequllah Nasrat said Afghan forces retaliated against a nearby Pakistani military base, causing several casualties. Pakistan accuses Kabul of harboring militants who stage cross-border attacks, a charge the Afghan government denies. The conflict has killed hundreds of people this year. Drop Site’s latest reporting on the clashes is available below.
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Mehr Sher retweeted
🇵🇰 A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced prominent human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to 10 years in prison on Thursday. Their sentences will run concurrently with additional one-year and two-year sentences for obstructing and assaulting government servants. Mazari and her husband were accused of holding a protest in 2024 that blocked a road, and thereby endangered an international cricket team’s security plans. They denied the charges, calling themselves “prisoners of conscience” targeted for their human rights work. Mazari’s mother, Shireen Mazari, a former member of Imran Khan’s cabinet, said that they were not allowed access to their lawyer or given key legal documents in the case. The couple had earlier been sentenced to 17 years in prison for social media posts. That sentence was suspended by Pakistan’s Supreme Court—they were re-arrested for the 2024 protest on the same day.
PAKISTAN: Responding to the conviction and ten-year imprisonment of Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha today by the Anti-Terrorism Court in Islamabad, Yasmine Ahmed, Senior Director for Regional Human Rights Impact at Amnesty International, said: “These convictions are an indictment of Pakistan’s justice system. This was not just Imaan and Hadi on trial, it was a test of the judiciary’s ability to uphold the principles of justice and the right to fair trial. It has failed that test miserably. It is clear that these ‘anti-terrorism’ charges are being used to punish Imaan and Hadi for their human rights advocacy.” Read more here: amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2…
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Our latest @AJFaultLines. Please watch 🙏🏼
NEW: The Trump administration claims no one has died because of U.S. humanitarian aid cuts but our @AJFaultLines team traveled to South Sudan to find that's not the case in our new investigative film "A Thousand Cuts" youtube.com/watch?app=deskto…
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Mehr Sher retweeted
New: The Trump administration says that “DHS is NOT arresting U.S. citizens by mistake.” But that is precisely what is happening. We've cataloged every case we can find of an immigration agent holding a citizen during the current administration. propub.li/4zgULAj
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Mehr Sher retweeted
⭕️ Leak exposes records of more than 41,000 DHS employees and contractors, including undercover ICE agents The transparency nonprofit Distributed Denial of Secrets publishedan archive it calls “Icepick” on Wednesday, which contains the records of more than 41,000 DHS employees and contractors. In a press release, DDoSecrets said the information comes from DHS’s Okta login system and was obtained by a group that calls itself the Department of Peace. That group attached a note that said, “They have our information, so it’s only fair that we have theirs.” The records, last updated on August 19, cover the DHS and seven component agencies, including emails, phone numbers, office addresses, supervisor names, and permission groups referencing undercover agents, and surveillance programs. DHS said it was working to address a potential security breach.
NEW: A leak of DHS records has exposed details of more than 41,000 employees and contractors, including workers’ cellphone numbers, ICE and CBP facility locations, and members of groups tied to wiretap programs, Palantir software, and xAI’s Grok chatbot. wired.com/story/massive-leak…
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Pakistan: TV anchor Iqrarul Hassan, seized from his Lahore home at 3am, is jailed under the PECA cyber law over posts on governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Branding dissent as cyberterrorism is how a military-run state silences the press. #HumanRights tribune.com.pk/story/2637368…
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Outrageous. This is the most brutal dictatorship Pakistan has ever seen. What is happening to Imaan and Hadi, two young human rights lawyers, is unbelievable and unequivocally condemnable.
BREAKING: Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha have been sentenced to ten years in prison for removing road barriers in October 2024, by ATC Islamabad.
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اس ملک کا سابق وزیراعظم لاپتہ ہے سابق خاتون اول لاپتہ ہے صوبے کا منتخب وزیراعلی لاپتہ ہے ایک جماعت کا صوبائی صدر لاپتہ ہے صوبے کی منتخب اسمبلی کا اسپیکر لاپتہ ہے عمران خان کی بہنیں لا پتہ ہیں جج انصاف نہیں استعفے دینے پر مجبور ہیں ۔۔ ان سب کاجرم کرپشن نہیں ،ان کاجرم نافرمانی ہے!! تو کیا ان حالات میں آئے گی سرمایہ کاری ؟ ایسے حالات میں سرمایہ کاروں کا اعتماد بحال ہو گا؟
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Imaan Mazari’s court testimony: “I am a prisoner of conscience who has been at the receiving end of state persecution since at least 2022 for my human rights and legal work. It is deeply painful for me that while my work on human rights has received recognition abroad, even today, my family and I continue to suffer reprisals for the same in my home country. I have not committed any crime and my track record attests to my deeply-held commitment to the rule of law. I also want to categorically state that standing against oppression, injustice and tyranny entails personal cost and suffering. This is a universal truth but history remembers those who resist injustice while those who perpetrate it are condemned for all times to come. We have been tried in a cage, in violation of our basic human dignity and our right to due process and fair trial, but we have complete peace of mind in the knowledge that God exalts who He wills to exalt and disgraces who He wills to disgrace.” #ReleaseImaanAndHadi
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I have never seen anyone sink so low as these people have. Imran Khan’s sister, Noreen Khan, is in the ICU, and the doors are being kept tightly locked with bolts and chains, as if this elderly woman poses a threat to them or is somehow going to escape from the hospital while fighting for her life. Uzma Khan’s husband and Noreen Khan’s daughter are waiting outside the ICU ward, but they are not being allowed to see her. What are they so afraid of? She is lying in the ICU. She is 71 years old. Why so much police presence? Why so much security and protocol? And, above all, why is she being denied the right to see her own family?
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So a PM - @CMShehbaz - can get his absconder daughter & son in law freed speedily from corruption charges while his govt continues to deny not just justice but also due process in trial to my daughter Imaan & my son in law Hadi. Pure vengeance @AzamNazeerTarar
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"The political fear of Imran Khan has gripped the nerves of the state to such an extent that instead of informing the family of his sister's illness and allowing a meeting, the focus is on increasing security—clearly, the leadership is terrified", says the ex-husband of Noreen Niazi - one of the three jailed sisters of incarcerated former Pakistan PM Imran Khan - who has been abducted by the state, and kept incommunicado since August 2023.
عمران خان کی بہن نورین نیازی کی طبیعت خراب، کوٹ لکھپت جیل سے پی آئی سی منتقلی: ""جیو نیوز کے مطابق، بانی پی ٹی آئی عمران خان کی بہن نورین نیازی کو دل میں تکلیف کے باعث فوری طور پر پنجاب انسٹی ٹیوٹ آف کارڈیالوجی، لاہور منتقل کر دیا گیا ہے، جہاں ان کے ابتدائی ٹیسٹ کیے جا رہے ہیں۔ نورین نیازی لاہور کی کوٹ لکھپت جیل میں نظربند ہیں۔"" عمران خان کی بہن نورین نیازی طبیعت بگڑنے پر کوٹ لکھپت جیل سے ہنگامی طور پر دل کے ہسپتال پنجاب انسٹی ٹیوٹ آف کارڈیالوجی، لاہور منتقل کر دیا گیا ہے۔ گزشتہ دو دن سے ان کی صحت کے بارے میں تشویشناک خبریں گردش کر رہی تھیں۔ ایک اطلاع دل کی تکلیف کی ہے، جبکہ دوسری کے مطابق ان کا بلڈ پریشر چند دنوں سے مسلسل بلند تھا۔ کوٹ لکھپت جیل میں گزشتہ ایک ماہ کے دوران چار قیدیوں کی پُراسرار اموات کی اطلاعات کے پس منظر میں یہ خبر اہلِ خانہ کے لیے مزید اضطراب کا باعث ہے۔ اہلِ خانہ کے مطابق، وہاں نظربند عمران خان کی تینوں بہنوں، نورین نیازی، علیمہ خان اور ڈاکٹر عظمیٰ خان کو اب تک کسی فیملی ممبر یا وکیل سے نہیں ملوایا گیا۔ ظلم کی انتہا، اس حالت میں بھی نورین نیازی کو اسی جیل میں قید اپنے اکلوتے بیٹے، حسان خان نیازی، سے نہیں ملوایا گیا ، نہ ہی بیٹے کو ماں کی طبیعت بگڑنے اور ہسپتال منتقلی کی اطلاع دی گئی، نہ ان کی دونوں بیٹیوں کو آگاہ کیا گیا۔ اطلاعات ہیں کہ لاہور کی انتظامیہ اور پولیس کی بھاری نفری نے پی آئی سی کو گھیرے میں لے رکھا ہے۔ ایک گھریلو خاتون، وہ بھی بیمار حالت میں ،سے ایسا خوف کہ ہسپتال کے سینکڑوں کی تعداد میں ہسپتال اندر پہرے بٹھا دیے گئے ہیں! شنید ہے کہ ڈپٹی کمشنر لاہور بھی بنفسِ نفیس ہسپتال میں موجود ،کیا دل کے عارضے میں مبتلا نظربند خاتون کے فرار کا اندیشہ ہے؟ یہی مملکت: بنوں جیل: 15 اپریل 2012، علی الصبح 384 قیدی فرار ہوئے۔😂 ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان جیل: 29 اور 30 جولائی 2013 کی درمیانی رات 253 قیدی فرار ہوئے۔😂 احسان اللہ احسان: 11 جنوری 2020 کو فوجی حصار کو توڑ کر فرار ہوگیا😂 مگر ایک بیمار خاتون کے لیے اس قدر مستعدی، اتنے پہرے اور ایسا حصارکہ دودھ کی جلی ریاست۔ عمران خان کا سیاسی خوف ریاست کے اعصاب پر اس حد تک سوار ہے کہ اسکی بہن کی علالت بھی اہلِ خانہ کو اطلاع دینے اور ملاقات کرانے کے بجائے پہرے بڑھانے پر توجہ مرکوز کہ ریادت خوفزدہ ہے۔ کوٹ لکھپت جیل جس میں پچھلے چند ہفتوں دوران چار قیدیوں کی پُراسرار موت کی خبریں آ چکی ہوں، وہاں کسی عزیزہ کی بیماری کی اطلاع اہلِ خانہ میں سے کسی کو نہ دینا اور میڈیا کے ذریعہ معلوم ہونا ، گھر والوں پر کیا قیامت ڈھاتا ہے، اس کا اندازہ بالم نہیں کر سکتا؟ اقتدار کی لالچ اعر نشہ وقتی تسکین کے سامنےآئین ، اقدار، جان، رشتے اور بنیادی حقوق سب بے وقعت ہیں؟ اے سہل اقتدار! اپنا انجام دیوار پر لکھا دیکھو پڑھو۔ آج شاید دکھائی نہ دے تو بھی تاریخ کا حساب مٹ نہیں جاتا۔ اللہ مجھے اتنی زندگی دے کہ ظلم کرنے والوں کو اپنے کیے کا حساب دیتے اپنی آنکھوں سے دیکھ سکوں۔ پہلوں کا ہم سب دن دھاڑے دیکھ چکا ہوں، ماضی میں بُرے انجام کو پہنچنے والوں کے نام نہیں لیتا کہ پھر بات ذاتیات تک جا پہنچے گی۔ جب مشرف کے خلاف نعرہ بلند ہوا، مکیا تیرا شو، تب جنرل مشرف کے تب وہم وگمان میں نہ ہو گا کہ 2008 اور وفات تک اُن پر کیا بیتنے وسلی تھی۔ باقی رہے نام اللہ کا۔۔
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🚨🚨#BREAKING: #Pakistan’s most devoted and prominent human rights defender @ImaanZHazir in latest terrorism case jail before judge in her 342 statement revealed she was tortured on the night of re-arrest in the premises of Adiala jail. Read her complete statement 👇 1/4
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No one has seen or heard from my father since August, when he explicitly said that he was being tortured and that the regime was trying to kill him like Egypt’s government did Morsi. The UN Special Rapporteur on torture has repeatedly stated that his treatment amounts to torture. Pakistan’s fascist regime, led by military dictator Asim Munir, continue to ignore the Supreme Court order from August for my father to be assessed and treated at the private Shifa International Hospital, as well as for regular access to family visits and access to his lawyers. It is clear that they are trying to kill him as he is by far the most popular political figure in the country, and they fear him. If the worst happens, no one should make any mistake who is responsible. It is Asim Munir with the approval of the illegitimate Pakistani government. Every government that continues to legitimise this regime will be complicit in this and the resulting chaos and destabilisation it causes in the region. No state that is engaging in friendly relations with this fascist Pakistani regime can truly claim to uphold the values of democracy or human rights.
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Imran Khan’s sister Noreen Niazi taken from jail to the hospital in Pakistan. Deeply concerning. The military government has been detaining the 70-year-old woman to put pressure on her brother.
70-year-old Noreen Niazi was taken from Kot Lakhpat Jail to a cardiac hospital under police guard, without her family or physician even being informed. A mother whose son, Hassan Niazi, has been behind bars for over three years. A sister whose brother, Imran Khan, is in solitary confinement. And now she herself is a prisoner, fighting her own health battles. A woman with no known history of high blood pressure like her brother is suddenly in a cardiac ward. Her daughters are being denied the chance to see their own mother. What is happening to her in custody? Why is her family being kept in the dark? Why can’t her family, daughters be by her side? How much more must this mother, this sister, this family endure? How much more must they sacrifice? Whatever your politics, she is a 70-year-old woman, a mother, a sister, and a human being. She deserves proper medical care, dignity, compassion, and the comfort of her children beside her. Seems like we have really lost every last shred of humanity? #خان_اور_فیملی_کو_رہا_کرو #شوکت_خانم_کی_شیر_اولاد #FreeImranKhanAndFamily
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My daughter @ImaanZHazir & her husband @AdvHadiali are paying a heavy price for defending & fighting for justice for the marginalised, the dispossessed, the disappeared, the forgotten. Now not only @CMShehbaz’s govt but judiciary also denying them due process & justice.
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🚨 EXCLUSIVE: The UAE, a close US and Israeli ally, is quietly helping Ansarallah (Houthis) fight Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, four sources have told Drop Site. This comes after Riyadh forced the UAE out of Yemen last December following clashes between their rival Yemeni allies in the south. Key findings: ➤ UAE-aligned Yemeni forces have given Ansarallah targeting help while Abu Dhabi looked the other way. Two sources said the UAE has also shared intelligence directly. ➤ The assistance is limited to targets inside Yemen, not Saudi Arabia, according to some sources. One source said a senior US official warned the UAE to stop, but sources indicated the assistance was ongoing. ➤ Commanders in the Giants Brigades, a predominantly Salafi militia from the south, have repeatedly abandoned positions without a fight, while UAE-backed southern separatist commanders have refrained from fighting Ansarallah on key fronts, a Yemeni source said. Senior Ansarallah official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti denied the assistance, citing UAE “neutrality,” but said Riyadh could avoid “the possibility of a future Yemeni-Emirati alliance against it” by ending the war and lifting the blockade. The STC separatists denied contact with Ansarallah or unwillingness to fight it in the south. The UAE ambassador to Washington did not respond to requests for comment. 🔗 Read the full report from Ryan Grim and Iona Craig below. ⬇️
🚨 New from @DropSiteNews: The UAE Is Secretly Helping Ansarallah Fight Saudi Arabia in Yemen In an extraordinary move, the UAE has been covertly sharing targeting assistance with the Iranian-aligned Ansarallah in its conflict against Saudi-backed forces inside Yemen. Story by @ryangrim and @ionacraig dropsitenews.com/p/uae-yemen…
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!! NYPD backing away from its no-bid contract with an Israeli surveillance firm after pushback.
Mamdani admin now backing away from a $750k no-bid contract w/ Israeli surveillance firm (after a Daily News report). “It did not meet the criteria for a sole source procurement, so we are moving to an open, competitive procurement process” PD spox sez nydailynews.com/2026/10/27/n…
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👇🏼👇🏼
Replying to @musher_01
The human consequences of this use of state power and the precedent it sets extend beyond one party. As Maheen Pracha of HRCP told Drop Site: “Whether it's the PTI in power now or somebody else, the same laws being made now will come back to haunt the next government in power.”
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