HM Amit Shah Inaugurates Conference on ‘PRAHAAR – National CT Policy and Strategy’
New Delhi, September 28
Union Home Minister Amit Shah today inaugurated the Conference on ‘PRAHAAR – National CT Policy and Strategy’ in New Delhi. The Conference deliberated upon the seven pillars of PRAHAAR including Prevention, Response, Aggregating Internal Capacities, Human Rights, Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism, Aligning International Efforts and Recovery and Resilience through a whole-of-society approach.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government has adopted a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy against all forms and manifestations of terrorism. He highlighted that from 2019 to 2026, the Narendra Modi government successfully brought back 288 fugitive criminals to India from 36 countries. Mr Shah said, as a result of better coordination among agencies, more than 40 modules of Shahzad Bhatti network involved in cross-border smuggling of weapons, explosives and narcotics were busted, more than 100 FIRs were registered and 350 individuals were arrested across 15 states. He said, at the same time, the government declared Shahzad Bhatti network a terrorist organisation under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act – UAPA.
The Home Minister also stressed on the need for consistent efforts to strengthen and improvise the PRAHAAR strategy through a continuous analysis of terror incidents and establishing a strong and concrete PRAHAAR mechanism for the next 10 years.
Focusing on percolation of the tenets of PRAHAAR up to the Thana level, Mr Shah emphasized adopting a proactive approach towards every aspect of the PRAHAAR initiative. Underlining various steps undertaken for mitigating terrorist threats, the Minister advocated institutionalising an automated counter terrorism response at every level of the framework. Mr Shah also called for coordination among the stakeholders to prevent any delay in action and impressed upon the necessity of result-oriented approach towards each pillar of PRAHAAR.
Mr Shah also launched a new Extradition Portal, which will synergise and expedite the efforts to bring back fugitives from abroad. He exhorted the State Police Forces to establish dedicated teams for working in tandem with the Central agencies to bring back fugitives from abroad.