news details |
|
|
| PRAHAAR: India shifts from reactive to proactive war on terror | | | Sanjay Pandita
Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 12: The Union Government has unveiled ‘PRAHAAR’, India’s first comprehensive National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy, aimed at shifting the country’s approach to terrorism from a largely reactive response to a proactive, intelligence-led framework, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
In a written reply to an unstarred question, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said the Ministry of Home Affairs unveiled the policy on February 23, 2026. He said the strategy provides a national framework for preventing and responding to terrorist activities and radicalisation through coordinated “whole-of-government” and “whole-of-society” approaches.
According to the government, PRAHAAR is based on seven key pillars—prevention of terror attacks to protect citizens and national interests; swift and proportionate responses to threats; aggregation of internal capabilities to create synergy among government agencies; adherence to human rights and the rule of law; addressing conditions conducive to terrorism, including radicalisation; aligning and shaping international efforts against terrorism; and recovery and resilience through a whole-of-society approach.
The government said the strategy seeks to address counter-terrorism objectives through a comprehensive and proactive framework, with particular emphasis on real-time intelligence sharing, protection of critical infrastructure and coordinated responses by Central and State security agencies.
As part of the new approach, the Multi Agency Centre (MAC) will play a key role in facilitating real-time intelligence sharing, while specialised Central forces such as the National Security Guard (NSG) will work in coordination with State police and other agencies through a swift and coordinated chain of command.
The strategy also envisages greater use of advanced technology in counter-terrorism operations while maintaining adherence to human rights and the rule of law. Community-based counter-radicalisation initiatives will form another component aimed at disrupting the wider ecosystem that facilitates terrorism.
The Centre said PRAHAAR would also strengthen efforts to combat terror financing, including through tracing cryptocurrency wallets, disrupting dark-web-based fundraising and crowdsourcing, and seizure of assets by Central agencies.
The strategy would further align India’s efforts with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and make use of international treaties to disrupt cross-border and state-sponsored terror financing networks, the government said.
On implementation, Rai said the Centre was committed to the progressive and phased operationalisation of PRAHAAR, with immediate priority being given to institutional and systems integration. The government said the strategy would be subjected to layered oversight and regular assessment to measure its effectiveness.
An important mechanism for reviewing the counter-terrorism framework would be the annual Anti-Terror Conference (ATC) organised by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the aegis of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The conference brings together senior officials from law enforcement and intelligence agencies, security forces, policymakers and legal experts to assess existing counter-terrorism measures, identify operational and administrative gaps, examine preparedness and recommend policy, legal and institutional reforms.
The government said the ATC would also promote inter-agency collaboration and capacity building while helping evolve India’s counter-terrorism framework in response to the changing security environment.
The Centre, however, did not specify a fixed deadline for the complete operationalisation of PRAHAAR, stating that implementation would proceed progressively and in phases, with outcomes being reviewed through regular monitoring and institutional assessment mechanisms. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
