New Delhi, India, September 28: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday called for institutionalizing the PRAHAAR counterterrorism strategy for the next 10 years through continuous analysis of terror incidents and the establishment of an automated response mechanism at every level, while stressing the need to take its principles down to the police station level.
Inaugurating the conference on “PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy” in New Delhi, Shah called for consistent efforts to strengthen and improve the strategy and urged stakeholders to adopt a proactive and results-oriented approach toward all its aspects.
The Home Minister emphasized the need to ensure that the tenets of PRAHAAR percolate to the “Thana” (police station) level and called for coordination among all stakeholders to prevent delays in action.
The conference deliberated on the seven pillars of PRAHAAR — Prevention, Response, Aggregating Internal Capacities, Human Rights, Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism, Aligning International Efforts, and Recovery and Resilience — through a whole-of-society approach.
Shah also highlighted steps taken to mitigate terrorist threats and advocated institutionalizing an automated counterterrorism response across the framework.
The conference was attended by the Union Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, heads of Central Armed Police Forces and Central Police Organizations, Directors General of Police of 15 states, and Anti-Terrorist Squad chiefs of all states and Union Territories. Other state police chiefs and senior police officers joined the conference virtually.
Highlighting coordination among agencies, Shah said that from 2019 to 2026, the Modi government brought back 288 fugitive criminals to India from 36 countries.
He said more than 40 modules of the Shahzad Bhatti network, allegedly involved in cross-border smuggling of weapons, explosives and narcotics, were busted through better coordination among agencies. The minister further said that more than 100 FIRs were registered and 350 individuals arrested across 15 states.
The government also declared the Shahzad Bhatti network a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Shah pointed out.
Shah also noted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Central government has adopted a “zero-tolerance” policy against all forms and manifestations of terrorism.
He also launched a new Extradition Portal aimed at streamlining and expediting efforts to bring back fugitives from abroad.
The Home Minister also urged state police forces to establish dedicated teams to work in tandem with Central agencies to bring fugitives back to India. (ANI)
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