National counter-terrorism policy and strategy soon: Amit Shah
Amit Shah also said that the government has come up with documents on model anti-terrorism squad (ATS) and model Special Task Force (STF) for the states and UTs
Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that the central government will bring a “national counter-terrorism policy and strategy” soon adding that a unified approach is required to fight “terrorism, terrorists and their ecosystem”.
The union minister also said that the government has come up with documents on model anti-terrorism squad (ATS) and model Special Task Force (STF) for the states and union territories, which, if adopted, will work as a common structure and platform to deal with the menace of terrorism.
“We need to work together to fight terrorism, terrorists and their ecosystem. And that’s why, we are bringing a new national counter-terrorism policy and strategy in which you all will play a key role,” Shah said while addressing the chiefs of police of states, senior security officers and central agencies at the inaugural session of two-day anti-terror conference-2024, organised by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Delhi.
Asserting that law and order is a state subject, Shah said “the new policy will help states and central agencies work in unison to deal with terrorism”.
On the model ATSs and STFs, Shah said the standard operating procedures (SOPs) in this regard are also being shared, which states can tweak according to their respective requirements.
“To make India developed by 2047 as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we need to deal with all security challengers and have a unified terror-fighting ecosystem. This (adopting model ATS and STF) doesn’t reduce the rights of states,” he added.
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The home minister further said a focused group of multi-agency centre (MAC) - a platform where all agencies and states/UTs shares real-time intelligence on daily basis – is also being formed.
The annual NIA conference has, over the years, emerged as a meeting point for operational forces, technical, legal and forensic experts and agencies engaged in counter terrorism for deliberations on issues impacting national security and threats emerging out of terrorism.
The key focus of conference is on developing synergies among various stake holders by establishing channels for coordinated action against the menace of terrorism in the spirit of ‘whole of the government approach’ and to present substantive inputs for future policy formulation, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) said in a statement.
“The deliberations and discussions in the two-day conference will be focused on various matters of importance including prosecution and evolving legal framework in counter-terrorism investigations, sharing of experiences and good practices, challenges and opportunities related to emerging technologies, international legal cooperation and strategies for dismantling terror ecosystem in various counter terrorism theatres across India. The conference is being attended by senior police officers from states/UTs, officers from central agencies/departments dealing with issues related to counter terrorism and experts from related fields such as law, forensics, technology etc,” the MHA said.
Among those attending the conference include 21 director generals of police (DGPs), officials from all central investigation and intelligence agencies including the CBI, ED, NIA, DRI, NCB, IB, R&AW among others.