New DelhiSeptember 23, 2025 06:56 PM IST
First published on: Sep 23, 2025 at 06:56 PM IST
US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas elicited critical editorials in the Urdu Press. Some of the dailies saw a pattern in how the US is deliberately targeting the interests of its ‘friend” India. Some focussed on the US administration’s move to withdraw the sanctions waiver granted to the Chabahar port in Iran, while others questioned Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) slogan.
SALAR
Highlighting Trump’s frequent assertions of ‘friendship’ with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bangalore-based daily Salar writes that the US President has a penchant for remaining in the headlines, often with unsettling decisions. “On the one hand, he praises the Indian Prime Minister and calls him his friend, and on the other hand, he targets the interests of Indians and India through his policies,” the editorial notes.
Dwelling on the recent US policies vis-a-vis India, the Salar says, “First they imposed 50% tariff on India, then withdrew the sanctions waiver granted to the Chabahar port in Iran, which is being developed by India, and now President Trump has surprised everyone by announcing that the fee for the H-1B visa will be increased.” The decision is expected to severely hit those who want to realise the American dream and many will face uncertainty about their future, the editorial underscores.
Salar also writes that India has invested billions of rupees in the Chabahar port and that US sanctions could make it difficult for India to operate there. “The Chabahar issue is very similar to the oil crisis. When the US failed to pressure Russia to stop the war in Ukraine, it started blaming the oil trade,” the editorial says.
It adds: “The importance of the Chabahar port for India is more strategic than logistical. It bypasses Pakistan and provides direct access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. The Chabahar embargo could affect not only India or Iran but also the US in the long run. The port is seen as a rival to Pakistan’s Gwadar port, which is part of China’s ambitious BRI project. India’s withdrawal from the region would directly benefit China. Beijing would gain strategic and commercial advantage from Washington. The Trump administration’s biggest mistake would be to let this (the Chabahar port) go to waste in trying to contain its adversaries.”
Roznama Sahara
In its editorial dated September 23, Sahara writes that Donald Trump became the President with the slogan ‘Make America Great Again’ and has a massive base of MAGA supporters. “For them, each of Trump’s words is sacrosanct. Probably that is why they could never ask Trump the question as to why America is not great anymore. Who has toppled America from the numero uno position?” the daily asks.
Sahara writes that many of Trump’s decisions are difficult to understand. “It is even more difficult to understand which country the United States considers a friend and which one it considers a rival. Which country it is competing with and which country is being indirectly harmed. Trump waged a trade war against China in his first term. He was expected to differentiate between friends and rivals when implementing tariffs,” the editorial notes.
The daily predicts that America itself will also suffer and that China will stand to gain from the US President’s recent orders. “The same is the case with the H-1B visa. This will harm those Indians who want to go to America and fulfill their dreams, but the order will damage America also,” it says.