PRAHAAR Counter-Terrorism Policy 2026: India’s National Strategy against Terrorism

Why in News?

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled PRAHAAR Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy at a national counter-terrorism conference in New Delhi.
• The conference focused on implementing PRAHAAR through a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach. The Home Minister emphasised that its principles should reach the police-station level and called for a proactive and result-oriented approach to counter-terrorism.
• The conference was attended by DGPs of 15 States and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chiefs from all States and Union Territories.

What is PRAHAAR?

• PRAHAAR is India’s comprehensive National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy, designed to strengthen the country’s institutional response to terrorism.
• It moves beyond a purely reactive security response by integrating prevention, intelligence coordination, rapid response, human rights, international cooperation and post-attack resilience.
• The strategy seeks to bring together central and state governments, security agencies, law-enforcement institutions, international partners and wider society in a coordinated counter-terrorism framework.

Seven Pillars of PRAHAAR

1. Prevention: The focus is on preventing terrorist attacks through intelligence gathering, surveillance, early identification of threats and timely intervention.
2. Response: It aims to establish a rapid, coordinated and effective response mechanism for terrorist incidents, with institutionalised counter-terrorism responses at different levels.
3. Aggregating Internal Capacities: This pillar focuses on integrating the capabilities and resources of different central and state agencies to improve intelligence sharing, investigation and operational coordination.
4. Human Rights: Counter-terrorism operations are expected to remain consistent with human rights, constitutional principles and the Rule of Law.
5. Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism: The strategy seeks to address conditions that can facilitate terrorism, including radicalisation, terrorist recruitment and other factors that enable extremist networks.
6. Aligning International Efforts: Since terrorism increasingly operates across national borders, PRAHAAR emphasises international cooperation, intelligence sharing, extradition and coordinated action against transnational terrorist networks.
7. Recovery & Resilience: This pillar focuses on restoring normalcy after terrorist incidents and strengthening the resilience of communities, institutions and critical systems.

Key Highlights of PRAHAAR Conference 2026

• Amit Shah stressed that the principles of PRAHAAR must percolate down to the police-station level. He also called for a proactive approach to every aspect of the strategy.
• The Home Minister emphasised the need to institutionalise an automated counter-terrorism response at every level and called for a result-oriented implementation of all seven pillars.
• He also highlighted the importance of coordination among different stakeholders to prevent delays in counter-terrorism operations.

Extradition Portal

• A new Extradition Portal was launched during the conference to improve coordination among agencies involved in bringing fugitives back to India.
• According to the Home Minister, between 2019 and 2026, 288 fugitive criminals were brought back to India from 36 countries.
• The initiative highlights the growing importance of international legal and institutional cooperation in tackling transnational crime and terrorism.

Action against Shahzad Bhatti Network

Amit Shah also highlighted inter-agency action against the Shahzad Bhatti network, which was linked to cross-border smuggling of weapons, explosives and narcotics.

According to the government:

• More than 40 modules were busted.
• More than 100 FIRs were registered.
• Around 350 individuals were arrested.
• The action extended across 15 States.

This illustrates the importance of intelligence sharing and coordination between central and state agencies in tackling organised and cross-border networks.

Significance of PRAHAAR

• PRAHAAR is significant because it seeks to create an integrated counter-terrorism framework rather than treating terrorism only as a law-and-order or policing challenge.
• Its seven-pillar framework covers the complete counter-terrorism cycle from prevention and response to international cooperation, recovery and resilience.
• The emphasis on a whole-of-society approach also recognises that countering terrorism requires cooperation beyond security agencies, including government institutions, communities, technology stakeholders and international partners.

Challenges

• Centre-State Coordination: India’s federal structure requires sustained coordination between central agencies and state police forces. Differences in capabilities, intelligence systems and operational procedures can affect real-time information sharing.
• Emerging Technology: Terrorist and organised criminal networks are increasingly exploiting technologies such as encrypted communications, drones, cyber platforms and digital financial systems.
• Terror Financing: Tracking illicit financial flows remains a major component of counter-terrorism efforts, particularly when funds move through complex domestic and international networks.
• Human Rights and Security: Effective counter-terrorism measures need to operate within the constitutional framework and maintain a balance between national security, individual rights and the Rule of Law.
• Transnational Terrorism: Cross-border movement of terrorists, weapons, narcotics, funds and fugitives makes international cooperation essential for effective counter-terrorism.

Way Forward

• Effective implementation of PRAHAAR requires stronger intelligence integration, police modernisation, inter-agency coordination and capacity building of state ATS and Counter-Terrorism Units.
• Technology-driven intelligence systems should be strengthened to detect emerging threats, while cyber intelligence, drone monitoring and terrorist-financing investigations should be integrated into the broader counter-terrorism architecture.
• International cooperation should also be strengthened through intelligence sharing, extradition mechanisms and coordinated action against transnational networks.
• Most importantly, the whole-of-society approach should ensure that counter-terrorism becomes a coordinated effort involving government agencies, law-enforcement institutions.

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