NEW DELHI: At the CII Annual Business Summit 2025, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday reiterated India’s hardened position on Pakistan while sending a pointed message of solidarity to the people 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 commitment 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 highlight 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 said.Referring to the recent military offensive, Operation Sindoor, Singh underlined how indigenous defence capabilities played a pivotal role. “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 said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier echoed the same hardline approach, saying, “There will be no talks and no trade with Pakistan. If there are talks, they will only be about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.” He also warned that if Pakistan continues to export terror, it would be left “begging for every drop of water,” referring to India’s intention to block its share of river water from flowing into the neighbouring country.Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, as a strong counterterror strategy to fight Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Indian armed forces targeted and destroyed nine terror infrastructure sites in Pakistan and PoK, including key facilities belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke.
