India launches PRAHAAR: First comprehensive anti-terror policy
India launches PRAHAAR: First comprehensive anti-terror policy
New counter-terror policy PRAHAAR targets financing, cyber threats, and radicalization with a whole-of-government approach.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday unveiled India's first comprehensive counter-terrorism policy, named PRAHAAR, signaling zero tolerance and intelligence-led prevention in the digital age. It lays out a multi-layered strategy to deny terrorists, their financiers and supporters access to funds, weapons and safe havens.
The policy arrives as security forces neutralized three terrorists in Kishtwar district the previous day, underscoring the immediate relevance of a cohesive national framework. PRAHAAR emphasizes prevention, swift responses, and the aggregation of internal capacities to achieve a whole-of-government approach while safeguarding human rights and the rule of law. It also highlights Attenuating the conditions that enable terrorism, including radicalization, and Aligning and shaping international efforts to counter threats, alongside Recovery and resilience through a whole-of-society strategy.
Beyond traditional cross-border terrorism, PRAHAAR acknowledges that criminal hackers and nation-states are targeting India with cyber-attacks and notes the evolving role of drones and technology in terror networks. The policy calls for coordinated legal, technological, and community-based responses to counter these challenges, aiming to bolster prevention, response, and resilience across agencies and communities.
India reiterates its zero-tolerance stance toward terrorism and its victims, committing to prevention and proportionate action while upholding rights and legal processes. The framework signals a shift toward a holistic, technology-enabled security posture that integrates security agencies, civil society, and international cooperation to adapt to evolving threats.
