DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2025, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES EXPRESS NETWORK ASSAM CM: POLICE TO LOOK INTO INTER-RELIGION LAND TRANSFERS SC ORDERS PROBE AFTER NCLAT JUDGE REMARK GOVT APPOINTS JUSTICES ARADHE, PANCHOLI TO SC PAGES 7, 10 NAMED BY U.S. IN PANNUN CASE Two days later, court cancels non-bailable warrant against ex-R&AW officer NIRBHAY THAKUR NEW DELHI, AUGUST 27 TWO DAYS after a Delhi court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Vikash Yadav, the former R&AW officer who was namedbytheUSasaconspirator in an alleged plot to kill proKhalistanseparatistGurpatwant Singh Pannun, the court cancelled it on Wednesday. Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Partap Singh Laler of Patiala House Courts had issued theNBWonMonday,notingthat Yadavhadfailedtoappearbefore the court in a case of alleged kidnapping and extortion despite repeated calls. “Issue NBWs against accused... and notice to his surety under Section 491 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (the procedure when bond has been forfeited) for October 17,” he had said. On Wednesday, Yadav’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 `7.00 (`8 RAIPUR, `15 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 TRUMP, MODI HAVE VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIP: BESSENT As 50% tariffs begin, US treasury secy says: End of day, we will come together Communication lines with US open... also in touch with industry to soften impact: Commerce Ministry officials SUKALP SHARMA & RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 27 ONTHEday50percentUStariffs on Indian goods became effective, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the India-US relationship is a “complicated” one, but he believed that “at the end of theday”thetwocountrieswill “come together”. “This is a complicated relationship. President Trump and PrimeMinister Modihaveavery good relationship at that level. It’s not just over the Russian oil. THE EDITORIAL PAGE THEBIGPICTURE Even as India continues trade talks with the US, it must reiterate red lines, push ahead on domestic reforms PAGE 8 GOVT & POLITICS U.S. WELCOMES INDIA CALL TO SCRAP 11% COTTON DUTY INDIA POLICY SHOULD BE GLOBAL TRADE FREE OF PRESSURE: BHAGWAT PAGES 6, 10 US Treasury Secy Scott Bessent The Indians came in early after Liberation Day to start negotiating on tariffs and we still don’t have a deal. I thought we would have a deal in May or June. I thoughtIndiacouldbeoneof the earlier deals and they kind of tapped us along in terms of the negotiations and then there is CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Called Modi and Pak, said stop war or will make your head spin with high tariff’ SHUBHAJIT ROY Trump repeats claim of brokering India-Pak ceasefire CANBERRA, AUGUST 27 LAUNCHING A broadside that has left many in Delhi bristling, US President Donald Trump, whilerepeatingthathebrokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in May, Wednesday claimed that he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan and said the US will not do “any (trade) deals with you”, that “we are going to put tariffs on you that are so high, your head’s going to spin” if the fighting doesn’t stop. He claimed he stopped the India-Pakistan conflict from “going nuclear”. “I am talking to a very terrific man,Modiof India.Isaid,‘What’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lutnick says green card to change, DeSantis calls H-1B visas a scam SHUBHAJIT ROY CANBERRA, AUGUST 27 AMID THE strain in ties, the Trump administration has opened a new front, targeting skilled Indian professionals on the H-1B visa programme, a movethatisexpectedtohitmiddle-class Indians in the US. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has said the US intends to modify the current immigrationsystem,specifically the H-1B visa programme and green cards. He said the Trump BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY EXPLAINED ECONOMICS H-1BVISADEBATE IN U.S. P13 administration plans to introduce a “gold card” programme. It will allow wealthy foreigners to invest $5 million in exchange for US residency. “I am involved in changing the H-1B visa programme. We are going to change that CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Australia does not back tariffs, says Wong, flags shared aims as Quad partners Penny Wong: Important time for India, Australia to keep working together SHUBHAJIT ROY CANBERRA, AUGUST 27 UNDERLINING THAT Australia wants a “deep, strong and trusted partnership” with India, Australian Foreign Minister PennyWongsaidonWednesday that her country “doesn’t support tariffs”. On the US administration’s tariffs on India, Wong said: “I'll leaveyoutocommentonyourbilateralrelationships.Icantellyou what Australia's position is… we don't support tariffs. We believe in the logic of the post-war economic order, that openness can enablegrowth,andoureconomy is a testament to that. Australia has developed our economy and advancedovertheselastdecades becausewehavetradedwiththe world in large part.” Asked about US President Donald Trump’s turn against India in recent months, Wong said: “What we would want as CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A vehicle stuck in debris in Jammu on Wednesday. PTI Jammu rain: Toll rises to 41, many Vaishno Devi pilgrims among dead ARUN SHARMA & BASHAARAT MASOOD JAMMU, SRINAGAR, AUGUST 27 AT LEAST 41 people, most of them Vaishno Devi pilgrims, died in Jammu’s Reasi and Doda districts between Tuesday and Wednesdayas theheaviest-ever rainfallrecordedduring24hours in Jammu province left a trail of death and devastation. Thirty-four people died near Adhkunwari en route to the shrineonTuesdayafternoon following a cloudburst in the area, while four died in the hilly Doda district due to rain and flash floods earlier in the morning. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘We are being lied to... responding to request to hate each other’ PAROMITA CHAKRABARTI NEW DELHI, AUGUST 27 MOTHERHOOD, IN much of the subcontinent’s storytelling, comes wrapped in sentiment — a shorthand for nurture and sacrifice,forsafeharbour,forthefirst and most abiding of refuges. ArundhatiRoy,63,wasnotraised inside that fable. Her mother, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Arundhati Roy’s new book , Mother Mary Comes to Me, is set to release today. PRH