Cross-Border Terror: India rolls out anti-terror doctrine PRAHAAR

New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday released India’s first comprehensive anti-terror policy, naming it “PRAHAAR”, and flagged threats ranging from cross-border terrorism and cyber-attacks to the misuse of drones and emerging technologies.

The policy emphasizes that apart from terror sponsored from across the border, “criminal hackers and nation states continue to target India through cyber-attacks.”

It notes that India faces terrorist threats across water, land and air, and states that capacities have been developed to secure critical sectors of the economy, including power, railways, aviation, ports, defence, space and atomic energy, against state and non-state actors.

The strategy document, uploaded on the MHA’s website, states that “India does not link terrorism to any specific religion, ethnicity, nationality or civilisation.”

It adds that the country has long been affected by “sponsored terrorism” from across the border, with “Jihadi terror outfits as well as their frontal organisations” continuing to plan and execute attacks.

The policy names global terror groups such as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), stating that they have sought to incite violence in India through sleeper cells, while violent extremists operating from foreign countries have hatched conspiracies to promote terrorism.

It further highlights the use of advanced technologies by handlers across the border, including drones, particularly in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.