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The 28th constitutional amendment is forthcoming as political momentum increases.

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Pakistan may be approaching significant constitutional upheaval as deliberations over a potential 28th Constitutional Amendment intensify within political and policy spheres.

The administration has escalated discussions about the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment, with the upcoming week in May deemed critical for its potential advancement.

Political sources indicate that atypical activity has been noted within essential state institutions as consultation meetings persist in anticipation of the forthcoming legislative initiative. Debates concerning the proposal have also reverberated in recent sessions of the National Assembly and Senate.

According to sources, the issue was addressed in a recent meeting between the President and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which included Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq and other top officials.

The Speaker has allegedly conducted comprehensive discussions with legislative leaders and is charged with fostering consensus among principal coalition partners, specifically the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) reportedly harbors qualms regarding critical elements of the proposed amendment. Efforts are being made to resolve these issues, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, and Federal Minister Rana Sanaullah actively participating in negotiations, while Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar is also apparently involved in the process.

Sources additionally asserted that plans for development projects in Sindh might be incorporated into the budget to garner support from the PPP.

A distinct consultative meeting was allegedly convened at the Presidency, featuring PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other party leaders, during which the Finance Ministry informed attendees about the NFC Award and budgetary allocation between the federation and provinces.

Sources indicate that the government is contemplating the introduction of the amendment by May 21, aiming for a wider political agreement. The anticipated modifications are likely to encompass amendments to the NFC Award and additional governance issues, although the establishment of new provinces is excluded from the present proposal, sources indicated.

Officials stated that negotiations are ongoing and legislators have been instructed to remain in Islamabad as discussions proceed.

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Amazon raised worries about Anthropic AI models before US crackdown, source says

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Amazon CEO Andy Jassy was among tech titans who raised security concerns to senior Trump administration officials this week over Anthropic’s most advanced AI models, a person familiar with the subject told Reuters.

Jassy’s presence underscores the dramatic step taken by Anthropic on Friday to shut down its newest models worldwide under national security demands from the administration of President Donald Trump.

The San Francisco-based AI startup, which has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, had previously warned about hacking capabilities of its Mythos model and held it back from wide release, but earlier this week, Anthropic rolled out a public version, called Fable, with what it described as cybersecurity safeguards.

That brief release was over Friday. In a blog post, Anthropic said the U.S. government notified the company it believes there is a way to bypass, or “jailbreak,” a protection ​against using the model to uncover cybersecurity flaws.

In a blog post, Anthropic said the bypass only revealed “minor” security weaknesses that other publicly available models may find.

The Trump administration told the business to prevent any foreign nationals, inside or outside the U.S., from utilising both its latest models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, Anthropic stated. Anthropic responded by saying it would block access to the models worldwide.

Amazon will not say if it had spoken to government officials regarding Anthropic’s models.

“It is not unusual for governments to ask us for advice about potential security issues because we are a leading cloud provider serving a large number of customers in the public and private sectors,” an Amazon spokeswoman said. “When they happen, we don’t disclose the details of these discussions.”

EXPORT RESTRICTIONS
Earlier Saturday, tech news site The Information highlighted Jassy’s concerns. The Information later reported, citing a U.S. official, that the administration was unlikely to require other AI companies to adhere to limits comparable to those placed on Anthropic.

Reuters could not immediately confirm plans by the Trump administration to regulate other corporations.

The U.S. government’s prohibitions were an export control, Anthropic stated in its blog post. The Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Commerce Department, which supervises export controls, did not react right away to a request for comment.

Officials issued the export control “reluctantly” after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei “refused” to “fix the jail break or de-deploy the model”, White House adviser David Sacks stated in a social media post on Saturday.

“The hope now is ​that Anthropic remediates the safety issue, the export control is lifted, and Fable goes back into general ​release,” wrote Sacks, ⁠co-chair of Trump’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and once the White House’s AI czar.

Some advocates of export limits were puzzled by the Trump administration’s move because it also applies to allied nations, not only rivals.

“This wasn’t thought out very well,” said Jimmy Goodrich, a senior scholar at the University of California’s Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation. “It even prohibits Canadians and ​Brits working at Anthropic from doing research and development.”

The directive came as a previous fight between Trump administration officials and Anthropic was simmering down among portions of the U.S. ​government.

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Met Office forecasts windy weather in Karachi

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The weather report said that the port city will have hot and humid weather with cloudy sky and maximum temperatures will hover between 34 and 36 Celsius.

Humidity ratio remained 66% in the air in morning which is predicted to remain between 55 to 75% during day, Met Office stated.

After days of searing hot weather with excessive humidity, Karachi reverted to Seabreeze on Saturday.

The sea wind, a critical factor that controls coastal temperatures, returns, making the usually heat-beaten metropolis more bearable. The influx of humid air from the Arabian Sea provides a relief to residents.

Health officials are urging the public to keep taking measures, particularly during the high afternoon hours. Still, it’s best to stay hydrated, not to get direct sun and use sun protection.

Karachi, being coastal, generally depends on the sea wind to keep the excessive heat at bay. The recent interruption of the breeze had sent temperatures soaring and the city was humid enough to feel considerably hotter.

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Aurangzeb says IMF had not asked for a tariff on solar panels

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He disputed allegations that the government had considering taxing solar panels before the budget. ‘There was never any such demand from the IMF and the topic was never discussed,’ he said.

Aurangzeb stated in a media interaction that the government is working on a set of structural reforms in the energy sector to bring down electricity rates, improve the business environment and increase the competitiveness of major industries, according to a federal minister.

In reply to questions on the high energy costs and capacity charges carried over by successive governments, the minister said expensive power continues to pose a serious problem to industry including manufacturing, information technology, mining and other energy-intensive industries.

He said the government, in partnership with Energy Minister Awais Leghari, had already taken steps to remove cross-subsidies for industry and was pursuing changes through wheeling policy and other measures to increase efficiency in the electricity sector.

Read More : Solar panels, inverters, lithium batteries’ prices soar ahead of budget

The government is moving from short-term relief to more extensive, long-term structural reforms, the minister said. These efforts are to be expected to bear fruit in the coming years rather than immediately, he said.

Privatisation of energy distribution companies (DISCOs) is a crucial part of the reform agenda. The minister said three DISCOs had already been awarded expression of interest (EOI) and two more EOIs will soon be awarded. He said he was certain that the first batch of distribution businesses would be handed over to private sector management by the end of the year, with the rest to follow in phases.

There would need to be more regulatory control to accompany privatisation and work was beginning to ensure the regulatory system would be robust and effective, he said.

He also emphasised the ambitions to shift away from the existing single-buyer energy market model, controlled through the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), to a competitive multi-buyer system. “The change will help dismantle existing monopolistic structures and improve market efficiency,” he said.

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