Explained: What is ‘Prahaar’, India’s first counter-terrorism policy?

It also states that India does not associate terrorism with any religion, ethnicity or civilisation, even while observing that “a few countries in the region have sometimes used terrorism as an instrument of state policy”

Cross-border and global threats flagged

Prahaar notes that India has long faced cross-border sponsored terrorism and names global terror groups such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS) as having attempted to incite violence in the country through sleeper cells

It also points to conspiracies hatched from foreign soil and the use of emerging technologies, including drones, to facilitate terror-related activities in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir

Focus on tech-enabled terror

The policy underlines how encryption, the dark web and crypto wallets have allowed terror groups to operate anonymously and move funds . It flags concerns over attempts to access CBRNED material (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive, digital), the misuse of drones and robotics, and cyberattacks by state and non-state actors

It highlights the misuse of social media and messaging platforms for recruitment, propaganda and coordination, and speaks of proactive disruption of such online networks

Community engagement and rehabilitation

Beyond enforcement, the document says the government engages doctors, psychologists, lawyers, NGOs and religious and community leaders to sensitise and reintegrate affected communities.

Prahaar seeks to deny terrorists, their financiers and supporters access to funds, weapons and safe havens, both within India and abroad,  while adapting the country’s counter-terror response to emerging technological and transnational threats