NIA: Central, state agencies agree on collaborative efforts to combat terrorism

New Delhi: Various central and state agencies besides police forces agreed on the need for stronger collaborative efforts backed by a standardised strategy to combat terrorism, particularly with respect to cybercrime during a two-day anti-terror conference organised by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which concluded on Friday.

The conference focused on the need for a unified approach to deal with terrorism across states in the interest of national security, according to an official statement.

Consensus emerged during the sessions on the importance of a holistic, well-rounded strategy, encompassing the entire national framework extending from the government down to the lowest levels of policing and investigation, it said.

“The National Investigation Agency’s (NIA’s) two-day Anti-Terror Conference concluded on Friday with a consensus among various central and state agencies and

police forces on the need for stronger collaborative efforts backed by a standardized strategy to combat the menace of terrorism, particularly with respect to cybercrime and financial terrorism,” the statement said.

There was a broad consensus that while Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UA(P)A is a powerful legal tool to tackle terror, it should be applied carefully and

judiciously to avoid potential misuse and ensure its effectiveness in combating terrorism, it said.

“Participants called for global cooperation to tackle misuse of social media by terrorists amid divergent content moderation policies. The session on case studies in terror investigations proved to be an extremely interesting aspect of the conference, with most participants keenly following the narrative of the high-profile (Bengaluru’s) Rameshwaram Café blast,” said the statement issued by the NIA.

The event was marked by the unveiling of the NIA’s motto by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who additionally launched the Handbook of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) specifically designed for investigations under the UA(P) Act, the statement said.

The tone of the event, which saw intense discussions on key terror related topics and concerns through five thematic sessions, was set by Shah at the start of the conference on Thursday.

Shah had announced several far-reaching measures to make India’s anti-terror fight more impactful. The Ministry of Home Affairs, he announced, will

soon formulate a national counter-terrorism policy and strategy to fight the entire ‘ecosystem’ of terrorism, the statement said.