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Dawn - 06:56 Apr 14, 2026
A man who allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman’s luxury California home was trying to kill the boss of artificial intelligence giant OpenAI and in possession of an anti-AI document, US officials said on Monday. The claims came as prosecutors levied federal charges against Daniel Moreno-Gama, 20, over the attack on Friday in San Francisco. The Department of Justice said Moreno-Gama had travelled from his home in Texas to carry out the attack on Altman, whose company is behind the popular ChatGPT chatbot. “Violence cannot be the norm for expressing disagreement, be it with politics or a technology or any other matter,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “These alleged actions — which damaged property and could well have taken lives — will be aggressively prosecuted.” Prosecutors say that after lobbing a firebomb at the gates of Altman’s home, Moreno-Gama fled on foot to the San Francisco headquarters of OpenAI, where he tried to smash the glass doors of the building with a chair. He “stated ... -
Dawn - 06:50 Apr 14, 2026
Pakistan is considering Eurobonds, loans from other countries and commercial debt to replace a $3.5 billion facility from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and manage its foreign reserves, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said. Aurangzeb also told Reuters the shock from the ongoing war in the Middle East meant that Pakistan must consider a strategic petroleum reserve and a faster switch to renewable energy. “All options are on the table,” Aurangzeb said when asked if the government was in talks with Saudi Arabia for a loan that could replace the UAE facility. Pakistan will reportedly return a $3.5bn loan to the UAE this month, putting pressure on its reserves and risking breaches of its International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme targets. The country has been thrust into the international spotlight as it plays the role of a mediator between the United States and Iran to end the war in the Middle East. Aurangzeb, speaking on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank annual spring meetings, said the country could man... -
Dawn - 03:46 Apr 14, 2026
• Households hit hard by outages as residents rush to eateries and LPG shops • Muttahida, PTI slam SSGC for failing to ensure supply during scheduled hours • Gas utility denies disruption, claims proper gas supply ensured ‘throughout meal times’ • Says optimal supply being ensured to power and fertilizer sectors KARACHI: The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has failed to ensure supply even during meal hours three times a day, leaving people across Karachi helpless and fuming amid unannounced gas cuts. The SSGC claimed that it was providing gas to domestic consumers from 6am to 10:30pm without any interruption. However, over the past two weeks, Karachiites have been complaining about unannounced loadshedding in their localities. The disruption led to a frenzy, with many rushing out to eateries and LPG stations in search of alternative cooking options. Restaurants and eateries, including roadside snack vendors, were seen crowded in several parts of the city with long queues, mostly for roti and naan. “It was cha... -
Dawn - 03:01 Apr 14, 2026
KARACHI: The government and Google have launched a joint initiative, ‘AI Seekho 2026’, to equip Pakistan’s youth with artificial intelligence skills through vibe coding. To accelerate the country’s transition into a global digital economy, Google for Developers, in strategic collaboration with the information technology and telecommunication ministry, Telenor and Innovista, has announced the launch of AI Seekho 2026. This nationwide initiative aims to equip developers and young professionals with cutting-edge artificial intelligence capabilities, entirely free of financial barriers. Multi-partner ecosystem As an unprecedented industry collaboration, AI Seekho 2026 is powered by a robust multi-partner ecosystem. Google for Developers leads the end-to-end execution, providing free cloud credits and platform access, supported by the Google Developer Groups and Google Developer Experts communities. In phase two, there will be a physical hackathon where developers participating in this phase will be required to bu... -
Dawn - 02:34 Apr 14, 2026
• Trump says Iranian navy ‘obliterated’, threatens to shoot at ships ‘anywhere close to blockade’; claims Iranian officials called him on Monday; reveals talks failed due to nuclear issue • US president says more countries to participate as Nato allies refuse to join Trump in blocking ports; Europeans to mull ‘defensive mission’ at conference • Iran says blockade akin to piracy, warns no port in Gulf will be secure • China urges parties to avoid escalation WASHINGTON/DUBAI: Despite a ceasefire and peace talks in Islamabad, the conflict between the US and Iran continued to escalate on Monday, as the American military blockaded all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports in a move that could push the region towards a fresh round of hostilities. The US military’s regional Central Command said the blockade would be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations” entering or leaving Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. “The blockade will not impede neutral transit passage throu... -
Dawn - 01:33 Apr 14, 2026
KARACHI: The government is mulling over a proposal to amend the duties and taxes regime in the new auto policy in order to bring vehicles within the reach of the middle class. “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is keen on making vehicles cost effective for the middle class,” the CEO of the Engineering Development Board (EDB), Hammad Ali Mansoor, told a media briefing on Monday. Three small electric vehicles in completely built-up form are due in Karachi during the third quarter of this year. This will be followed by work on building mega assembly plants in Karachi and Lahore, he added. Initially these vehicles will be priced at less than one million rupees, Ali Mansoor said. The auto policy, which is likely to be announced on July 1, has been forwarded to the ministry for presentation to the prime minister. “No assembler has sought any extension in the current policy,” he said. The CEO did not disclose other salient features of auto policy, but said the prime minister’s focus is on making small cars affordable fo... -
Dawn - 22:47 Apr 13, 2026
On Sunday, President Donald Trump stepped in to raise the stakes of an already volatile standoff, announcing that the United States Navy would begin “BLOCKADING” the Strait of Hormuz — delivered, in classic Trump fashion, the emphatic all-caps. The deadline passed at 7pm (PST) on Monday. The developments came after a night of diplomacy in Islamabad that promised more than it delivered, with inconclusive takeaways and very little to show for 21 hours of deliberations. The negotiations ended with a terse briefing from JD Vance, confirming what everyone had been hoping to avoid: nothing had been agreed. Judging from the string of off-the-cuff, rhetorically charged posts on Trump’s Truth Social feed, he appears to have revived what once again looks like the ‘madman theory’ — using brinkmanship and unpredictability as a strategic bargaining chip. He seems to be signalling that if Iran can rattle markets by blocking one of the world’s primary energy arteries, Washington can rattle them harder. The rationale is pret... -
Dawn - 20:06 Apr 13, 2026
LAHORE: Widespread loadshedding has been reported in urban and rural areas across Punjab as distribution companies (Discos) grapple with an increasing gap in supply and demand. The situation is reported to be worse in rural areas, especially those covered by the Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco), where, at present, discos are observing loadshedding on an hourly basis and up to 16 hours in some areas. “We cannot even sleep at night due to the loadshedding being observed by Mepco these days,” said Imran, a villager in Muzaffargarh district. “We are experiencing 12 to 16 hours of loadshedding almost daily,” he said, complaining that the Mepco area office had no words to justify their position. Tahir, a villager from Khanewal district’s Kabirwala area, said that loadshedding was being observed for up to six to eight hours in his area. “This has started all of a sudden, as the situation was not bad five to six days ago,” he said. “We are experiencing loadshedding for four hours daily these days in our urban ar... -
Dawn - 19:59 Apr 13, 2026
The Pakistan Customs said on Monday that two of its preventive officers had been arrested on charges of “swapping 400 kilogrammes of seized silver bullion with lead”. In a statement on X, the Pakistan Customs said the alleged replacement of silver with lead was carried out “during official transportation from Quetta to Pakistan Mint Lahore”. A first information report had been registered and both officers were in custody, the statement said. It added, “The officers were officially deputed to transport 688 kg of confiscated silver in 36 sealed boxes via Pakistan International Airlines from Quetta to Lahore. Upon unpacking at Pakistan Mint, 400 kg of silver was found to have been replaced with fake lead bricks of identical weight and packaging.” According to the statement, CCTV footage from Safe City in Quetta “confirmed the deliberate swapping of the transportation vehicle carrying the original silver”. -
Dawn - 19:38 Apr 13, 2026
The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) on Monday announced that one of its submarine cables would be undergoing a repair from April 14, and the maintenance work could last till April 20. The users may face service degradation in the evening during this time, PTCL said. The state-owned telecom giant manages three undersea optical fibre cable networks that provide international internet connectivity to Pakistan. The combined capacity of all six submarine cable systems serving the country, including three PTCL cable systems, two submarine cable systems of Trans World Associates (Pvt) Ltd and PEACE cable of Cyber Internet Services, stands at 13Tbps, while national usage currently ranges between 7 and 8 Tbps. -
Dawn - 19:06 Apr 13, 2026
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb called for “enhanced technical support, advanced analytical tools, and specialised training for Pakistan’s Debt Management Office” in his meeting with the World Bank Vice President Jorge Familiar Calderon in Washington on Monday, the Ministry of Finance said. Aurangzeb arrived in Washington earlier on Monday to represent Pakistan in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group Spring Meetings 2026. He is expected to participate in more than 50 high-level gatherings, which will take place from April 13 to 18. The finance ministry’s statement said Aurangzeb “congratulated Calderon on his recent appointment and underscored the critical role of the World Bank Group Treasury in supporting developing economies through enhanced access to capital markets, financial innovation, and advisory services in debt and risk management”. He outlined Pakistan’s diversified financing strategy, highlighting the use of instruments such as Sukuk and environmental, social, and go... -
Dawn - 18:51 Apr 13, 2026
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday set aside a ruling that had struck down a federal government policy introduced in 2022 to regulate foreign funding of non-governmental and non-profit organisations. The policy was set aside by a single bench in September 2024, with Justice Asim Hafeez observing the constitutional scheme did not envisage the exercise of legislative powers by the federal cabinet unless such power or authority was exercised under the authority of the legislature. He had declared the policy unlawful, invalid and of no legal effect. But a two-member bench comprising Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal and Justice Syed Ahsan Raza Kazmi observed today that such policy-making squarely fell within the executive domain and was protected from “undue judicial interference”. The bench restored the Policy for Local NGOs/NPOs Receiving Foreign Contributions 2022. Multiple intra-court appeals were filed by the federation in the wake of a Sept 6, 2024 judgment. Advocate Saqib Jillani, who represented the pe... -
Dawn - 18:15 Apr 13, 2026
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that a picture that he posted on Truth Social, which depicted him as a Jesus-like figure and has now been deleted, was actually supposed to show him as a doctor. “I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with the Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker there, which we support. “And only fake news could come up with that one. I just heard about it, and I said how did they come up with that. It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better,” Trump told reporters at the White House when he was asked whether he had posted the picture. The AI-generated image of Trump as a Jesus-like figure drew widespread criticism, even from some religious conservatives who typically support him. It depicted Trump in a white robe with an apparently healing hand on a prone man’s head. In the painting-like image posted on Sunday, Trump was seen holding a glowing orb in one hand and using his other hand to touch a seemingly sick man on ... -
Dawn - 16:53 Apr 13, 2026
While the world’s attention has been focused on the US-Israel war on Iran, President Donald Trump has launched a scathing verbal attack on Pope Leo XIV. Trump also suggested that Leo was only elected to lead the Catholic Church last year “because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump”. He also posted an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus, with the US flag and the Statue of Liberty in the background. The post was later removed. However, Trump has not always been critical of Leo, who is the first American pope. At the time of his election, he had called it a “great honour for our country”. So why is the US president now picking a fight with the pontiff? Why was Trump so incensed? On Saturday, the global leader of Catholics had made a plea for peace amid the war in the Middle East as talks between the US and Iran were underway in Islamabad. The 70-year-old had publicly implored leaders on Saturday to end the violence, telling worshippers... -
Dawn - 16:09 Apr 13, 2026
LAHORE: Punjab Assembly’s Standing Committee on Local Government and Community Development approved the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026 on Monday, even as some members, including the panel’s chairperson, expressed reservations regarding the legislation. The meeting was chaired by PML-N MPA Pir Ashraf Rasool, and members of the Women Parliamentary Caucus were also invited to witness its proceedings. The bill discussed during the meeting sets 18 years as the minimum legal age for marriage for both boys and girls in Punjab. Previously, the minimum legal age for marriage in Punjab was 18 years for men and 16 years for women under the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929. That changed with the promulgation of the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026 as an ordinance by Punjab Governor Saleem Haider in February. The ordinance, however, will lapse in May — 90 days after its promulgation — and hence, the legislation needs the Punjab Assembly’s approval to remain in effect. After being passed by the standing comm... -
Dawn - 15:14 Apr 13, 2026
Following talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad over the weekend, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that “full efforts” were ongoing to resolve the conflict. “Today, the ceasefire still stands. As I am talking to you, matters that are not resolved, full efforts are underway to resolve them,” he said in a televised address to the federal cabinet. In his first remarks on the matter after the negotiations concluded, the premier hailed talks between the two countries in Islamabad as a “historic moment”. He said the Islamabad Talks gave Pakistan a chance to “turn looming clouds of war into lasting peace”. PM Shehbaz added that “if you look through history — take the Oslo Agreement, the Geneva Accord, the Good Friday Agreement … it took months and sometimes years to end hostilities and establish peace”. Coming to the Islamabad Talks, he said that the Iranian and American delegations had negotiated “continuously for 21 hours”. The dialogue, he said, was not held indirectly. “It was the fir... -
Dawn - 14:45 Apr 13, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Fitch Ratings, one of the world’s top three agencies, on Monday affirmed Pakistan’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) at “B-” with a “stable outlook”. “Pakistan’s rating affirmation reflects progress on fiscal consolidation and macro stability measures, broadly in line with its International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and supporting its funding capacity,” the US-based rating agency said. “Foreign exchange buffers rebuilt over the past year provide a cushion against the economic impact of the war in the Middle East, while Pakistan’s role as a ceasefire broker may provide tangible benefits and partly offset external pressures,” it said. However, it highlighted that the country’s high exposure to the global energy price shock remained a key risk, particularly if it led to a sharp drop in foreign exchange reserves. Talking about key rating drivers, Fitch said the authorities reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on its loan programmes in March, unlocking a combined $1.2 b... -
Dawn - 14:43 Apr 13, 2026
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Monday said that the upper parts of the country were expected to receive rain and thunderstorms from April 16 to 19. In a press release, the PMD said a westerly wave was likely to approach the country’s northwestern parts on April 16 (Thursday) and likely to persist in the upper parts till April 19 (Sunday). Under the influence of the weather system, rain-windstorm/thunderstorm with isolated heavy falls were likely in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). In KP, rain-windstorm/thunderstorm with isolated heavy falls/hailstorm (snowfall over mountains) was expected in Chitral, Dir, Swat, Kalam, Shangla, Buner, Kohistan, Malakand, Battagram, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Balakot, Haripur, Mardan, Nowshera, Peshawar, Bajaur, Mohmand, Swabi, Charsadda, Kohat, Kurram, Khyber and Hangu from the evening of April 16 to April 19 with occasional gaps. “Light rain wind/thunderstorm is likely at isolated places in Orakzai, Karak, Bannu... -
Dawn - 13:10 Apr 13, 2026
GILGIT: Three cops were martyred and five others were injured on Monday after unknown assailants opened fire on a police vehicle in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district, local and hospital officials said. The police team was on its way back from Thor village after destroying poppy cultivation when unidentified assailants opened indiscriminate fire on the vehicle, Caretaker Home Minister Sajid Baig told Dawn. As a result, three police officials were martyred and five others, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), were injured, according to an incident report issued by the Chilas RHQ Hospital. The report, seen by Dawn, said three police personnel were brought dead to the hospital, while five injured personnel were shifted to the facility’s Emergency Department. “Among the injured, three individuals are undergoing surgical intervention, while the remaining two sustained minor injuries [and] are being treated at the hospital,” the report said. The martyred cops were identified as Abdul Reheem Jami, Muqa... -
Dawn - 13:06 Apr 13, 2026
US President Donald Trump has criticised Pope Leo as “terrible” in a rare direct attack on the pontiff, who responded that he had “no fear” of the White House administration and would continue to denounce the horrors of war. The president’s comments came after the pope had spoken out, with growing force, against the US-Israeli war on Iran and the Trump administration’s immigration policies. “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social late on Sunday. Trump later posted an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus, with the US flag and the Statue of Liberty in the background.’ ‘Someone has to stand up’, Pope says Pope Leo, the first pontiff from the US, responded on Monday by saying he would keep raising his voice against conflict, adding that the Christian message, rooted in the primacy of peace, was being “abused”. It is extremely unusual for a pope, who leads Catholics around the world, to answer a foreign leader publicly. “I will continue to speak ...
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