Nat’l counter-terrorism policy soon: Amit Shah
NEW DELHI: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the ‘Anti-Terrorism Conference 2024’ hosted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in New Delhi as a two-day event that will unite in itself the efforts that are being made for strength in Indian anti-terrorism initiatives. In the conference, he unveiled the new motto of NIA, released SOP for investigating UAPA cases, and honoured 11 NIA medal recipients. Also present at this meeting were Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan; Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Deka; National Security Deputy Advisor Pankaj Singh; and NIA Director-General Sadanand Date. High-ranking state police forces and central agencies, along with law experts, forensic scientists, and technology experts, were also in attendance.
In his address, Shah underlined the task of the NIA as not only an investigating agency but also to coordinate and promote anti-terror activities all over India. He clarified the responsibility of the agency to produce watertight cases in court that will further harden the anti-terrorism structure. Shah also paid tribute to over 36,000 police officers who lost their lives while defending the security of the nation since independence.
Emphasising efforts of the NDA Government led by PM Narendra Modi, he mentioned, “Since 2014, India has followed a rigid anti-terrorism policy in which the world, too, has accepted.” Reiterating Modi’s statement of “Zero Tolerance for Terrorism”, Shah added, “India has, in the last decade itself, created an unbreakable ecosystem to defeat terrorism.” Shah said that the Home Ministry has a National Counter-Terrorism Policy & Strategy, which will be shortly coming out. This policy will focus on building a comprehensive system for dealing with every aspect of terrorism and its support networks.The union minister said that whereas states have geographical as well as constitutional boundaries, terrorism does not recognise borders. And involving collaborative conferences is required to build strong mechanisms against terrorism, narcotics, and financial crimes like hawala, which pose a threat to national security. Shah expressed confidence that the conference would generate actionable points to enhance India’s fight against terrorism and bring grassroots intelligence to the doorsteps of senior NIA officials.
Shah focused on critical legislative moves during Modi’s tenure, such as the amendment made in August 2019 to the NIA Act, empowering the agency with extraterritorial jurisdiction to take investigations across borders. Similarly, the amendment made in 2019 to UAPA empowered the NIA to seize assets and declare individuals and organisations terrorists. He also stated that significant efforts and steps were taken towards de-radicalization by facilitating inter-ministerial coordination.Various measures undertaken to strike at the finances of terrorism include multi-agency databases and the launch of an integrated plan, 25 points in 2020, to address diverse threats, be it jihadist terrorism, narcotics, or fake currency. He referred to the integrated functions of the Multi-Agency Centre and the National Memory Bank.
Shah concluded his speech by reiterating the requirement of new criminal law aiming at modernisation of criminal justice in India. Shah restated shifting his preference from “Need to Know” to “Duty to Share”, which is due to collaborative efforts from police stations to DGP offices across the states.
