Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday accused Pakistan of committing atrocities on “innocent Indians” in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and vowed to liberate the territory from the alleged yoke of the neighbouring country.

The defence minister’s assertion touched a raw nerve with dozens of women from PoK who are married to Kashmiris on the Indian side, mostly former militants. These women and their families returned to the Valley under a government rehabilitation scheme but are allegedly denied the rights available to other local women.

The women, called “Pakistani brides”, and their children are not allowed to apply for jobs, nor can they own property. These women have been demanding for years that the central government treat them as their own or deport them to Pakistan.

Rajnath said on Thursday: “Everyday, we hear stories of atrocities on innocent Indians. Pakistan is fully responsible for such heinous acts…. Any country or state that commits atrocities on people has to face its consequences. In the coming times, Pakistan will face the consequences of its crimes. They will definitely face it. I say it with authority.”

The defence minister was in Srinagar to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the landing of Indian troops in Kashmir.

“Today, the region of J&K and Ladakh is touching new heights of development. This is just the beginning. Our aim is to implement the resolution unanimously passed in the Indian Parliament on February 22, 1994, to reclaim the remaining parts, such as Gilgit and Baltistan.”

Rajnath said Pakistan was shedding crocodile’s tears over human rights issues and asked how it was treating people in “our territory” illegally occupied by it. He emphasised that he was talking about “Pakistan-occupied Kashmir”.

Bushra Farooq, originally from PoK’s Bagh and married to a Kashmiri living in Kupwara, said they had unsuccessfully campaigning for their rights for decades.

“What justice will he give to people living there (PoK)? We are from that place but are married to Kashmiris from this side. We and our children are treated as foreigners. All we have been saying is please accept us and if you can’t do that, please deport us to Pakistan,” Bushra told The Telegraph.

“We have no identity here. Our children can’t get jobs…. Most of us have no rights,” she added.

Another woman regretted that tens of thousands of people who migrated from Pakistan to Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of Partition had been granted domicile and other rights following the abrogation of Article 370 provisions, but they alone had been excluded, allegedly for their faith.

In 2017, the state government revealed that 377 “former militants”, along with 864 family members, had returned since 2010.

The families said they were treated as pariahs and denied the basic right of meeting their families on the other side of the divide. “A number of us have lost our husbands over the years and some have been divorced. But the government has no sympathy for us,” a woman said.