Nation will counter any situation arising out of Pak presence on Indian soil: Jitendra Singh

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said India is ready to face any kind of challenge and situation arising out of Pakistan's presence on Indian soil.

He asserted that the entire world is now identifying who the perpetrators of terrorism are and also the manner in which terrorism is being promoted from Pakistani soil.

"It is a matter that we have lost precious lives even today. But having said that, let me reassure viewers that the Indian forces, the government of India, the entire nation in fact is ready to face any kind of challenge or any kind of situation arising out of Pakistan perpetration of terrorism on the Indian soil," Singh told ANI.

Singh further claimed that Pakistan itself can be at the receiving end of perpetrators of terrorism sooner than later.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has already described Pakistan as 'hell' and echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's sentiments made during his Independence Day speech that Pakistan should stop violating human rights in Balochistan province and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Pakistan has formally invited India for dialogue on the Kashmir issue in a letter handed over to India's High Commissioner to Islamabad Gautam Bambawale on Monday, which New Delhi has emphatically rejected.

The move came days after the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, announced Pakistan's willingness to invite India for talks on Kashmir in the wake of the unrest in the valley.

Aziz had made this announcement last week at a news conference in Islamabad, saying, "Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry would soon write a letter to his Indian counterpart for a dialogue on Kashmir."

Pakistan also branded Prime Minister Modi's Independence Day speech as an attempt to divert world attention from the growing unrest in Kashmir.

"Modi was trying to divert world attention from the grim tragedy. Thousands of unarmed (Kashmiri) youth are protesting every day for their right to self-determination," Sartaj Aziz said.

Meanwhile, five persons were killed and 18 were injured yesterday in fresh clashes in the Valley where the death toll so far has risen to 65.

The Valley has been embroiled in violence since the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani.