{"id":133186,"date":"2026-09-16T21:07:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=133186"},"modified":"2026-09-16T21:07:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:07:44","slug":"south-africa-pushes-back-on-us-visa-curbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa pushes back on US visa curbs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Web Desk(National Times)- South Africa on Wednesday hit back at new US visa restrictions over its racial equity policies, accusing the Trump administration of distorting its laws and further straining ties between Washington and one of Africa\u2019s most influential powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The dispute is the latest front in a broader clash over race, trade and diplomacy that has seen Washington cut aid, impose tariffs, expel South Africa\u2019s ambassador and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1956624\/modi-heads-to-g20-as-trump-boycotts-south-africa-summit\">boycott<\/a>&nbsp;a G20 summit in Johannesburg, all against the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1912399\">unresolved legacy<\/a>&nbsp;of white minority rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the new visa restrictions would target those who promote \u201crace-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said Pretoria viewed the move \u201cwith concern\u201d and that Washington was echoing narratives promoted by fringe groups opposed to South Africa\u2019s post-apartheid reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe reiterate that healing the divisions of the past and establishing a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights is a constitutional imperative,\u201d Lamola said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The US did not immediately name any individuals targeted by the restrictions but warned of further \u201csevere\u201d action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis visa restriction policy is only the first step in a series of escalatory measures that will show America\u2019s firm resolve in this matter,\u201d US ambassador to South Africa, Brent Bozell, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2030396\/south-africa-pushes-back-on-us-visa-curbs#hypocrisy\"><\/a>\u2018Hypocrisy\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Donald Trump has criticised South Africa\u2019s land reform and employment equity laws, which were introduced after the end of apartheid to address racial disparities that remain among the world\u2019s widest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump has portrayed the measures as discriminatory against Afrikaners, the white minority descended largely from Dutch settlers, a claim Pretoria rejects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2025, he berated President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office over discredited claims of a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1954024\">white genocide<\/a>\u201d in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the US president has broadly cracked down on immigration, his administration has offered refugee status to thousands of white South Africans it says face persecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lamola rejected suggestions that the government was targeting any racial group, saying crime remained a national challenge affecting all South Africans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The opposition uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, also condemned the visa restrictions, calling them an affront to South Africa\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe hypocrisy of Washington\u2019s position is breathtaking. It lectures South Africa, while arming Israel amid the reported killing of more than 73,000 Palestinians in Gaza,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the tensions, Pretoria and Washington have remained engaged in efforts to thaw relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe discussions have highlighted the need for any resolution to consider South Africa\u2019s unique circumstances and to respect its democracy, constitution, sovereignty, and the will of its people,\u201d Lamola said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">South Africa is the largest trading partner of the US on the African continent, with more than 500 US businesses and 30,000 US citizens based in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">South Africa said last month it would offer a \u201cgenerous\u201d new trade deal to the United States as it seeks to avoid hefty tariffs that threaten job losses on top of a dire unemployment crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Web Desk(National Times)- South Africa on Wednesday hit back at new US visa restrictions over its racial equity policies, accusing the Trump administration of distorting its laws and further straining ties between Washington and one of Africa\u2019s most influential powers. The dispute is the latest front in a broader clash over race, trade and diplomacy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>South Africa pushes back on US visa curbs - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Africa pushes back on US visa curbs - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Web Desk(National Times)- South Africa on Wednesday hit back at new US visa restrictions over its racial equity policies, accusing the Trump administration of distorting its laws and further straining ties between Washington and one of Africa\u2019s most influential powers. The dispute is the latest front in a broader clash over race, trade and diplomacy [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-16T16:07:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-16T16:07:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-49.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/\",\"name\":\"South Africa pushes back on US visa curbs - Nation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-49.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-16T16:07:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-16T16:07:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-49.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-49.png\",\"width\":670,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"South Africa pushes back on US visa curbs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\",\"name\":\"Nation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\",\"name\":\"humza Jahangir\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"humza Jahangir\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"South Africa pushes back on US visa curbs - Nation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"South Africa pushes back on US visa curbs - Nation","og_description":"Web Desk(National Times)- South Africa on Wednesday hit back at new US visa restrictions over its racial equity policies, accusing the Trump administration of distorting its laws and further straining ties between Washington and one of Africa\u2019s most influential powers. The dispute is the latest front in a broader clash over race, trade and diplomacy [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/","og_site_name":"Nation","article_published_time":"2026-09-16T16:07:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-16T16:07:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":670,"height":370,"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-49.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"humza Jahangir","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"humza Jahangir","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/","name":"South Africa pushes back on US visa curbs - Nation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-49.png","datePublished":"2026-09-16T16:07:34+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-16T16:07:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-49.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-49.png","width":670,"height":370},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133186\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"South Africa pushes back on US visa curbs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/","name":"Nation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16","name":"humza Jahangir","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"humza Jahangir"},"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133186"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133188,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133186\/revisions\/133188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}