NEW DELHI: The Union Government on Monday unveiled the first of its kind uniform anti-terror policy and strategy, ‘PRAHAR’, while outlining a comprehensive framework to address evolving threats through prevention, coordinated response, capacity building and adherence to the rule of law.
Putting the eight pages policy document in public domain, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) stated that India has remained at the forefront of the global fight against terrorism for decades, even as the nature of threats continues to evolve and that needs to be dealt with firmly.
“While the nature of threats continues to change and present new challenges, India has remained consistently opposed to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” the MHA document read.
The MHA noted that instability in India’s immediate neighbourhood has often created ungoverned spaces and added that “few countries in the region have sometimes used terrorism as an instrument of State Policy.”
It also stressed that India does not associate terrorism with any religion or identity and noted that “India does not link terrorism to any specific religion, ethnicity, nationality or civilization” and reaffirmed that the country has always denounced terrorism “unambiguously and unequivocally" and that its policy is guided by a principled approach of ‘zero tolerance’ against terrorism.
According to the MHA, the counter-terrorism strategy flows from India’s long-standing commitment to stand by victims of terrorism and its belief that “there can be no justification whatsoever for violence in the world.”
The strategy is predicated on key objectives, including prevention of terror attacks, swift and proportionate responses, aggregation of internal capacities through a whole-of-government approach and ensuring human rights and rule-of-law-based processes and focused on “attenuating conditions that enable terrorism, aligning international counter-terror efforts and strengthening recovery and resilience through a whole-of-society approach”.
The MHA said India has long faced state sponsored terrorism from across the border, with jihadi outfits and their frontal organisations continuing to plan and facilitate attacks. It added that global terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS have attempted to incite violence through sleeper cells.
It also highlighted the growing misuse of technology by terror groups, stating that handlers frequently use “the latest technologies, including the use of drones, for facilitating terror-related activities and executing attacks in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir”. The terror outfits are increasingly relying on social media platforms and instant messaging applications for propaganda, recruitment and communication, while technologies such as encryption, the dark web and crypto wallets enable anonymous operations, it added.
It also expressed concerns over attempts by terror outfits to have access of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive and Digital (CBRNED) materials, alongside cyber-attacks carried out by criminal hackers and nation states.
Talking about a proactive and intelligence-guided approach to counter terrorism, the MHA said, “The Multi Agency Centre (MAC) and Joint Task Force on Intelligence (JTFI) within the Intelligence Bureau serve as nodal platforms for real-time intelligence sharing and coordinated action.”
Law enforcement agencies would continue their efforts in countering the misuse of the internet, recruitment networks and logistical support systems, including overground worker (OGW) modules, it noted, while adding that special emphasis is to be given for disrupting terror funding networks through legal mechanisms.
It said that border guarding forces and immigration authorities have been equipped with advanced technologies to secure threats across land, air and water, while critical sectors such as power, aviation, ports, defence and atomic energy are being protected from state and non-state actors.
Noting that local police remain the first responders during terror incidents, supported by specialised state and central forces, the MHA said, “The National Security Guard (NSG) functions as the nodal national counter-terror force, assisting states and conducting capacity-building initiatives. And then, a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and state police agencies, coupled with high prosecution rates, are aimed at creating deterrence against future terror incidents.”
Giving special emphasis on countering radicalization, the MHA said, “Intelligence and law enforcement agencies should adopt graded responses to address violent extremism, while community leaders, NGOs and moderate preachers are engaged to spread awareness about the consequences of extremist violence. Efforts are also being undertaken to prevent radicalisation in prisons and to address socio-economic vulnerabilities through education, employment and welfare initiatives aimed at youth and women.”
Highlighting the transnational nature of terrorism, the MHA said international partnerships remain critical through intelligence sharing, extradition arrangements and cooperation frameworks. India will continue working with global partners to designate terrorists and build consensus on counter-terror measures, it added.
MHA in the policy document stressed on the need for enhanced cooperation among agencies, periodic legal reforms and enhanced capacity building of state counter-terror units, as the strategy aims to deny terrorists access to funds, weapons and safe havens while investing in technology and partnerships to counter future threats.