Why in news?

The Centre has launched ‘Prahaar’, India’s first comprehensive counter-terrorism policy. Built on a zero-tolerance approach, it emphasises intelligence-led prevention and coordinated responses to extremist violence.

The framework aims to dismantle terror networks by cutting off access to funding, weapons, and safe havens, both within India and abroad, targeting not just terrorists but also their financiers and supporters.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• India’s First Counter-Terrorism Policy: Prahaar
• Conclusion

India’s First Counter-Terrorism Policy: Prahaar

• The Centre has unveiled India’s first comprehensive counter-terrorism policy, “Prahaar”, aimed at strengthening the country’s fight against extremist violence through a coordinated, intelligence-driven approach.
• 
• Core Objective
  • Prahaar aims to:
    • Criminalise all terrorist acts.
    • Starve terrorists, their financiers and supporters of funding, weapons, safe havens and cyber resources.
    • Strengthen coordinated action among central and state agencies.
• Guiding Principles
  • Zero Tolerance: No justification for terrorism under any circumstances.
  • Victim-Centric Approach: India stands firmly with victims of terror.
  • No Religious Attribution: Terrorism is not associated with any religion, ethnicity, or civilisation.
  • Concern Over State Sponsorship: Notes that some countries in the region have used terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

• Seven Key Pillars of Prahaar: Each letter of the acronym represents a strategic pillar:
  • Prevention
    • Intelligence-led, proactive measures to stop attacks before they occur.
    • Continuous disruption of overground worker networks and cyber activities.
  • Responses
    • Swift, proportionate, and graded counter-terror responses.
    • Uniform anti-terror structures and standard operating procedures across levels of governance.
  • Aggregating Internal Capacities
    • Whole-of-government approach.
    • Modernisation of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) with advanced tools, technology, and weaponry.
    • Enhanced coordination in intelligence collection and investigation.
  • Human Rights and Rule of Law
    • Safeguarding due process with multiple levels of redressal and appeal.
    • Legal reforms in the counter-terror framework as required.
  • Attenuating Enabling Conditions
    • Graded police response to radicalisation.
    • Legal action based on degree of radicalisation.
    • Addressing socio-economic vulnerabilities of youth through education, engagement and de-radicalisation programmes.
  • Aligning International Efforts
    • Strengthening global cooperation.
    • Use of treaties, extradition and deportation under UN norms.
    • Collaboration to counter misuse of ICT by terrorists.
  • Recovery and Resilience
    • Whole-of-society approach to rebuilding and strengthening community resilience after terror incidents.
• Key Threat Perceptions
  • Cross-Border and State-Sponsored Terror
    • India has faced cross-border sponsored terrorism, including jihadist outfits and their frontal organisations.
    • Global terror groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS have attempted to incite violence through sleeper cells.
    • Terror handlers abroad have used drones and advanced technologies to facilitate attacks, especially in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.
    • Terror groups increasingly collaborate with criminal networks for logistics and recruitment.
  • Technology-Driven Terrorism
    • Use of drones in Punjab and J&K.
    • Exploitation of encryption, dark web and cryptocurrencies for anonymity.
    • Use of social media and encrypted messaging apps for propaganda, recruitment, and funding.
    • Risks related to CBRNED materials (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive, digital).
    • Threats from misuse of drones, robotics, and cyberattacks by state and non-state actors.
  • Organised Crime Nexus
    • Terror groups leveraging criminal networks for logistics and recruitment.
    • Collaboration between foreign-based and local outfits for transnational attacks.

• Counter-Measures and De-Radicalisation
• Proactive disruption of online terror propaganda and recruitment networks.
• Strengthening intelligence and counter-terror operations.
• Community-based reintegration efforts involving doctors, psychologists, lawyers, NGOs, and religious leaders to prevent radicalisation and rehabilitate affected individuals.
• Strategic Way Forward
  • Greater collaboration among intelligence and security agencies.
  • Continuous capacity-building at the state level.
  • Investment in technology and partnerships with private enterprises.
  • Uniform structures and standard procedures across central, state and district levels.

Conclusion

Prahaar institutionalises India’s counter-terror strategy as a doctrine rooted in proactive intelligence, coordinated governance, technological preparedness, legal safeguards and international cooperation, aimed at comprehensively dismantling terror networks and strengthening national security.