3 min readSrinagarUpdated: Jul 26, 2026 01:37 PM IST
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday that no talks with Pakistan are in the offing, and that even if there were to be talks, they would only be about Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK).
“Our intention is clear. There will be no talks with Pakistan,” Singh said in his speech on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas at the Kargil War Memorial in Dras. “If talks happen, they will happen only regarding POK, which is a part of India illegally occupied by Pakistan,” he said.
Twenty-seven years after the Indian Army forced Pakistan to withdraw from the Kargil peaks it had occupied, the Defence Minister warned the neighbouring country against any “misadventure”.
“India will respond harshly and with the same strategic approach in case of a misadventure by Pakistan,” Singh said, referring to last year’s Operation Sindoor, in which Indian forces struck terrorist targets in Pakistan and POK in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. “I want to give a clear message. Every nefarious act aimed at undermining India’s sovereignty will face the same fate,” he added.
Accusing Pakistan of institutionalising terrorism as a state policy, Singh said that while India is progressing through innovation and technology, Pakistan continues to promote terrorism, radicalisation and infiltration.
‘Our paths are different’
“India is giving software to the world, while Pakistan is giving (terrorist) sleeper cells to the world. India is building data centres and Pakistan is building radical centres. India is connecting the world through UPI, while Pakistan is connecting terrorism through hawala. In other words, our paths are different…,” he said, adding, “India is building a start-up ecosystem and Pakistan is building a terror ecosystem. India is making semiconductors while Pakistan is preparing suicide bombers. India is known for space missions and Pakistan is running proxy missions. India is sending satellites into space while Pakistan is still engaged in sending terrorists across borders.”
The Defence Minister also said India would no longer distinguish between terrorists and their support structure.
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“Pakistan has now made terrorism a part of its government policy. The distinction between the military and militants there has been erased. The Army there not only provides protection to terrorist organisations but also works hand in hand with them,” he said. “Therefore, during Operation Sindoor itself, we made it clear that India would no longer see terrorists and the governments that nurture them as separate.”
Paying tribute to the soldiers killed during the Kargil war, the Defence Minister said that Kargil was not just a military victory but also a diplomatic victory for India and a defining moment that showcased “courage, determination and sacrifices” of the soldiers.