Our foreign policy, diplomacy have completely failed: Imran Masood slams govt after Prez Trump's H-1B visa fee hike

New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) As US President Donald Trump announced that American companies will now have to pay the government $100,000 to secure an H-1B visa for a foreign employee, Congress MP Imran Masood on Saturday lashed out at the NDA government, claiming that India’s foreign policy and diplomacy have completely failed.

Speaking to IANS, Imran Masood said, "The whole nation is suffering due to the so-called friendship between Prime Minister Modi and Donald Trump. The youth is suffering, the economy is suffering. The things we opposed earlier, today, we are facing the consequences. Our foreign policies and diplomacy have completely failed. No one is ready to take responsibility. Now, the youth are watching and will continue to see what is happening in the country."

Reacting to the recent Defence agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia — in which Pakistan’s Defence Minister stated that the country would assist Saudi Arabia in its nuclear programme if needed — Masood pointed out further diplomatic failures.

“Our diplomacy and foreign policy should have ensured that we stood with those who have historically supported us. But we ran after those who were never truly our allies. Now, no one stands with us. Pakistan is facing a situation where the world is questioning its credibility, and we are no different. We should have stood with Iran and Palestine, but we failed to do so. These are clear failures of our foreign policy and diplomacy,” he added.

Masood further reacted to recent remarks by former BJP MP Subrata Pathak, who said that if a Nepal-like situation arises in India, he would first go to the homes of RJD leader Akhilesh Yadav and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and their houses would be torched.

“These are people who divide rather than unite. They spread hatred to further their politics, while the youth of the country suffer. Our economy is paying the price,” Masood said.

Meanwhile, the political slugfest intensified after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, fresh from making allegations of voter fraud, appealed to the country’s students and Gen Z — those born in the early 2000s — to protect democracy and pledged to support them in their fight against alleged “vote theft.”

“The country’s youth, the students, and Gen Z will save the Constitution, protect democracy, and stop vote theft. I will always stand with them,” LoP Gandhi had posted on X.

The post came just hours after LoP Gandhi held an explosive press conference on Thursday, alleging illegal deletions and additions of voters in Karnataka and Maharashtra through centralised software — allegations the Election Commission has dismissed as “baseless.”

The timing of LoP Gandhi’s message is significant. Just days ago, a violent uprising by Nepal’s Gen Z against corruption and authoritarianism led to the fall of the KP Sharma Oli-led government. Over 50 people were killed, ministers' homes were set on fire, and shocking visuals of top leaders being beaten on the streets flooded social media.

--IANS

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