India unveils first national counter-terror policy ‘PRAHAAR’
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Representative Photo Photograph: (AFP)
The strategy document, uploaded on the MHA’s website, states that “India does not link terrorism to any specific religion, ethnicity, nationality or civilisation.”
India on Monday (Feb 23) unveiled PRAHAAR, the first-ever comprehensive National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy. This landmark document marks a shift from earlier reactive, incident-based approach to a proactive "whole-of-government" preventive framework for threats, including cross-border terrorism, and "criminal hackers and nation states continue to target India through cyber-attacks.”
The Ministry of Home Affairs, in its strategic document, noted that India faces terrorist threats across water, land and air, and stated that capacities have been developed to secure critical sectors of the economy, including power, railways, aviation, ports, defence, space and atomic energy, against state and non-state actors.
The strategy document, uploaded on the MHA’s website, states that “India does not link terrorism to any specific religion, ethnicity, nationality or civilisation.” It adds that the country has long been affected by “sponsored terrorism” from across the border, with “Jihadi terror outfits as well as their frontal organisations” continuing to plan and execute attacks.
“India has been on the target of global terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which have been trying to incite violence in the country through sleeper cells,” adding that violent extremists operating from foreign countries have hatched conspiracies to promote terrorism.
“Their handlers from across the border frequently use the latest technologies, including the use of drones, for facilitating terror-related activities and attacks in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. Increasingly, terrorist groups are engaging organised criminal networks for logistics and recruitment to execute and facilitate terror strikes in India,” the document highlighted.
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On the digital front, the document points to the use of social media platforms, instant messaging applications, encryption tools, and the dark web for propaganda, funding and operational guidance, enabling anonymous activity.
“Disrupting/Intercepting terrorist efforts to access and use CBRNED (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive, Digital) material remains a challenge for Counter Terrorism (CT) agencies. The threat of state and non-state actors misusing drones and robotics for lethal purposes remains another area of concern.”
For the future roadmap, the MHA suggested associating legal experts at every stage of investigation, from the registration of FIRs to prosecution, to present solid legal cases against the perpetrators.
“Terrorist groups based outside nowadays use the infrastructure, logistics and terrain knowledge of local outfits for launching attacks. National actions, coupled with international and regional cooperation, are key elements in addressing the transnational terrorism challenge,” it said.
The PRAHAAR policy expands into seven key pillars:
P – Prevention of terror attacks to protect Indian citizens and interests
R – Responses that are swift and proportionate to the threat posed
A – Aggregating internal capacities to achieve synergy in a whole-of-government approach
H – Human rights and ‘rule of law’-based processes for mitigation of threats
A – Attenuating the conditions enabling terrorism, including radicalisation
A – Aligning and shaping international efforts to counter terrorism
R – Recovery and resilience through a whole-of-society approach
