NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday that security agencies need to make joint efforts and equip themselves with cutting-edge technology to combat terror, emphasising that terrorism has become “borderless and invisible” across the globe.
“The terror attacks and their conspiracy are against us in a borderless and invisible manner. If we have to deal with it accurately, then our young officers will have to be equipped with the latest technology, they will have to be trained. We will make it an important part of the training in the coming days,” Shah said, addressing the inaugural session of the ‘Anti-Terror Conference 2024’ organised by the National Investigation Agency.
He said the Ministry of Home Affairs will soon bring a national counter-terrorism policy and strategy.
“We are taking the next step in the proactive approach that the home ministry has made to fight terrorism, terrorists and the terrorism ecosystem. We will come up with a National Counter Terrorism Policy and Strategy,” Shah said.
“But as I said, police are a state subject and the fight will have to be taken up by the state police. All the (Central) agencies will support them with technical support and information-sharing in their effort in taking action,” Shah said, mentioning that the event was being attended by 21 directors general of police.
Emphasising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism, Shah said that this approach “is now accepted globally and the country has built a strong ecosystem to deal with it.”
He said terror incidents have come down 70% since 2014 compared to the previous decade. “Now the shelf life of terrorists has decreased from two years to a few days,” Shah said.
He said that due to the joint efforts of state and Central governments, violence has been controlled to a great extent in the three identified internal security theatres, including Jammu and Kashmir, Naxal-affected areas and the northeastern states, in the last 10 years.
Shah asked representatives of the state police forces at the conference to invoke law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act wherever required. “Seventy-five years of Independence have passed. Till now, 36,468 police personnel have sacrificed their lives while on duty to ensure internal security and security of the borders. I want to pay tribute to all of them today for their spirit of making the supreme sacrifice and also thank their families on behalf of the country,” the home minister said.
Shah said the key focus of the anti-terror meet is on developing synergies among stake holders by establishing channels for coordinated action against the menace in the spirit of “whole of the government approach”.
‘36K police personnel lost life in combating terror’
Home minister Amit Shah asked representatives of the state police forces at the conference to invoke law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act wherever required. “Seventy-five years of Independence have passed. Till now, 36,468 police personnel have sacrificed their lives while on duty to ensure internal security and security of the borders. I want to pay tribute to all of them today for their spirit of making the supreme sacrifice and also thank their families on behalf of the country,” the minister said.