People living in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are a part of the Indian family and will return to India voluntarily one day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday.

Addressing a Confederation of Indian Industry Business Summit, the defence minister also said that New Delhi had “redesigned and redefined” its counter-terrorism strategy. Any future dialogue with Islamabad would be limited to discussions on terrorism and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, he added.

The defence minister’s remarks came amid tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad, which escalated on May 7 when the Indian military carried out strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The strikes were in response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which killed 26 persons on April 22.

On Thursday, Singh said that the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir “are our own, part of our family”.

The defence minister added: “We have full faith that those of our brothers who are geographically and politically separated from us today will also return to the mainstream of India someday listening to their voice of soul.”

Singh said that most people in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir felt a “deep connection” with India and only a few of them have been “misled”.

“The day is not far when our own part, PoK [Pakistan-occupied Kashmir] will return and say, I am India, I have returned,” the defence minister added.

Singh said that Islamabad was paying a “heavy price” for supporting the business of terrorism.

Watch: Interview: ‘Op Sindoor won't stop terror; conflict with India existential for Pak Army’