Need for uniform anti-terror structure in states stressed at NIA national meet

New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) The need to enhance the country's anti-terror capabilities through a uniform anti-terror structure across states was a key takeaway from a national conference that reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's zero tolerance for terrorism, an NIA official said on Sunday. 

The 5th Anti-Terror Conference of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which concluded on Saturday, also saw detailed discussions under the newly initiated Track-2 format on critical issues such as digital device data, big data analytics and unmasking digital anonymity, the official said in a statement.

The conference reiterated the Central government's policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism in any form and its commitment to strengthening the country's anti-terror apparatus.

The two-day conference was inaugurated on Friday by Home Minister Shah.

Addressing the meet, Home Minister Shah directed states to expeditiously implement a uniform Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) structure to strengthen India’s counter-terrorism capabilities.

He emphasised that without robust, uniform and consistent operational capacity across the country, intelligence inputs cannot be optimally utilised and coordinated counter-actions cannot be effectively executed, the statement said.

Home Minister Shah lauded the operational and investigative successes of various agencies and state police forces in the recent terror cases of Pahalgam and the Delhi Red Fort blast.

Referring to the Pahalgam targeted attack case, he said the agencies had made the country proud through their thorough investigations.

Citing the tracking and elimination of the three terrorists involved, HM Shah said, “This is the first terrorist incident in which we punished those who planned the act of terrorism through Operation Sindoor, and neutralised the terrorists who carried out the attack through Operation Mahadev.”

He described the twin operations as “a strong and decisive response by the Government of India, India’s security forces and the people of India to terrorist masterminds based in Pakistan.”

Pointing to the rapidly evolving technology and terror landscape, the Home Minister stressed the need for continuous assessment and re-evaluation of counter-terror strategies.

He also underlined the importance of addressing international dimensions such as cyber warfare, hybrid warfare, multi-layered security challenges and the free flow of intelligence among agencies at the Centre and in the states.

Stressing the need to strengthen investigation and prosecution capabilities, HM Shah asked states to conduct regular training programmes for security and police personnel.

On the occasion, the Home Minister congratulated officers and personnel honoured with service medals for outstanding performance and paid tribute to over 36,000 CAPFs and police personnel who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

In his concluding remarks on Saturday evening, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan said the institutionalisation of the conference reinforces India’s zero tolerance towards terrorism, whether cross-border, narco-terrorism or cyber-enabled terrorism.

He stressed the need for heightened vigilance against threats arising from radicalisation, recruitment and exploitation of vulnerable youth for violent activities.

Mohan lauded the NIA’s conviction rate of over 90 per cent and said the Centre aims to scale up conviction rates across all police forces in the country to similar levels.

The conference focused on lessons learnt from investigations, pre-emptive disruption of terror modules, and experiences across theatres such as Left Wing Extremism (LWE), the North East and various hybrid threats to national security.

It also provided a platform to assess emerging threats such as deepfakes and hybrid warfare, while emphasising the role of digital forensics and data analytics in counter-terror investigations.

Discussions also covered countering terror financing, maritime terrorism, illicit trafficking and the evolving jurisprudence related to counter-terrorism.

The inaugural session was attended by heads of state police forces, central police organisations and central armed police forces, along with over 150 delegates from various state and UT police units and central agencies. Union Ministers of State Nityanand Rai and Bandi Sanjay Kumar were also present, the statement said.

--IANS

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