India is seen as a nation that takes action against terror: Anurag Thakur

India is seen as a country that acts strongly against terrorism while a neighbouring nation only shelters and encourages violence, information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur said on Monday.

India is seen as a country that acts strongly against terrorism while a neighbouring nation only shelters and encourages violence, information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur said on Monday, referring to Pakistan as he spoke about the steps taken by central government to combat terrorism in the past eight years.

India is seen as a country that acts strongly against terrorism while a neighbouring nation only shelters and encourages violence, information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur said. (ANi)

“India is increasingly being seen as a country that readily offers all assistance to other countries in their times of crisis and also as one that acts strongly against terrorism, while a neighbouring country is only seen as one sheltering terrorism and propounding values of violence,” Thakur said in a press briefing.

Underlining the measures taken by the government to deal with terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast and the hinterland during its tenure of more than eight years, Thakur said: “The government’s resolve against terror has been displayed time and again from surgical strike to Balakot strike. The action by our armed forces has caused a significant drop in terrorist incidents in J&K. Similarly, we have achieved a 94% conviction rate in terror financing cases.”

Terror attacks in Kashmir have declined from 417 in 2018 to 229 in 2021, official data show. India conducted a military strike on September 29, 2016, across the Line of Control as a response to a terrorist attack on an army base in Jammua and Kashmir’s Uri. On February 26, 2019, Indian Air Force jets crossed the Line of Control and destroyed terror launch pads in Balakot in Pakistan.

“An era of peace has dawned in the northeastern region since 2014, when insurgency violence has seen a sharp decline of 80% and civilian deaths have seen an 89% drop,” Thakur said. “Added to this is the achievement of surrender by 6,000 militants since 2014,” he underlined.

“The government is committed to go beyond armed action to counter terrorism and has worked to create an atmosphere of lasting peace across the region. These peace treaties are a legacy of the achievements of the government,” Thakur added while listing several peace agreements signed by the Centre, including the Bodo Accord in January 2020, the Bru-Reang agreement in January 2020, the Karbi Anglong agreement in September 2021 and the Assam-Meghalaya interstate boundary agreement in March 2022.

Asserting that the Indian government has a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism, the minister said the Centre has worked on the legal front by strengthening UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act), and has taken steps at the enforcement level by giving the National Investigation Agency a truly federal structure by introducing the National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Act, 2019.

“The collective effect of these measures has been a weakening of the ecosystem of terrorism,” he said.

Highlighting that India has raised its concerns at the highest global levels, Thakur said in international conferences and meetings, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always pressed the world to unite against terror.

Junior finance minister Bhagwat Karad, present at the briefing, echoed Thakur’s words. Jamang Tsering Namgyal, member of Parliament from Ladakh, said issues such as villagers being stopped from taking their cattle to their traditional grazing grounds arise due to non-demarcation of the international boundary with China.