‘People of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) are our personal, part of our household’: Rajnath Singh | India News

NEW DELHI: At the CII Annual Business Summit 2025, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday reiterated India’s hardened place on Pakistan whereas sending a pointed message of solidarity to the individuals of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), describing them as an integral part of India.“We have recalibrated our engagement and scope of dialogue with Pakistan. Now, whenever there will be talks, it will be only on terrorism and PoK,” Singh declared. Emphasising India’s enduring dedication to reunification, he added, “I believe that the people of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) are our own, part of our family. We are committed to the resolution of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ and we have full faith that our brothers who are geographically and politically separated from us today, will also return to the mainstream of India someday or the other.”Defence minister used the platform to spotlight India’s evolving doctrine on cross-border terrorism, stating that Pakistan is now “paying a heavy price” for sponsoring terror. “Running the business of terrorism is not cost-effective. Today, Pakistan has realised that it has to pay a heavy price for it. We have redesigned and redefined both India’s strategy and response against terrorism,” he stated.Referring to the current army offensive, Operation Sindoor, Singh underlined how indigenous defence capabilities performed a pivotal function. “In Operation Sindoor, the people of the whole country have seen, understood and felt the success of the Make in India campaign. Today, it has been proved that Make in India is important for both the security and prosperity of India. Make in India is an essential component of India’s National Security. If we did not have this capability, India’s forces would not have been able to take such effective action against terrorism from lower Pakistan to PoK,” the minister stated.Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier echoed the identical hardline method, saying, “There will be no talks and no trade with Pakistan. If there are talks, they will only be about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.” He additionally warned that if Pakistan continues to export terror, it will be left “begging for every drop of water,” referring to India’s intention to dam its share of river water from flowing into the neighbouring nation.Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, as a powerful counterterror technique to battle Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Indian armed forces focused and destroyed 9 terror infrastructure websites in Pakistan and PoK, together with key services belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke.