PRAHAAR- The National Counter-Terrorism Policy
Context:
The Union Home Ministry has released India’s first-ever National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy, titled PRAHAAR.
This comprehensive document outlines the threat profile and strategic response to terrorism, emphasizing that India faces threats on all three fronts—water, land, and air—as well as through cyber-attacks by "criminal hackers and nation states".
Key Principles:
The policy explicitly states that India does not link terrorism to any specific religion, ethnicity, nationality, or civilization.
It focuses strictly on the act of violence and its perpetrators.
The strategy aims to criminalize all terrorist acts and deny terrorists, their financiers, and supporters access to funds, weapons, and safe havens.
Threat Profile:
Sponsored Terrorism:
The policy notes that India is affected by "sponsored terrorism" from across the border, with Jihadi outfits and their frontal organizations continuing to plan attacks.
It also mentions global groups like al-Qaeda and IS trying to incite violence through sleeper cells.
New-Age Threats:
It flags the misuse of drones, robotics, and CBRNED (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive, Digital) materials by state and non-state actors.
It also highlights the use of the dark web, encryption, and crypto wallets for anonymous funding and communication.
Strategic Measures:
Uniform Structure:
The policy proposes establishing a uniform anti-terrorism structure across all States to ensure standardized processes and synergistic responses to terror attacks.
Legal Integration:
To ensure successful prosecution, it suggests associating legal experts at every stage of investigation, right from the registration of the FIR.
Community Engagement:
It underscores the role of moderate preachers and NGOs in spreading awareness to counter radicalization and extremist violence