NEW DELHI, OCT 5: Emphasising the need to not only fight terrorism but also dismantle its entire ecosystem, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Thursday said anti-terror agencies will have to adopt such ruthless approach that no new terrorist group is formed in the country.
Addressing an anti-terror conference organised by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in New Delhi today, Amit Shah highlighted the success of Central and State agencies in combatting various forms of terrorism in the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the last nine years.
The event saw the presence of several dignitaries, including Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nishith Pramanik, Home Secretary, Director Intelligence Bureau, Director General NIA, Director Generals of Central Armed Police Forces, State Police Chiefs, and senior officials from both Union and State governments.
During the ceremony, Home Minister Amit Shah honoured NIA officials for their exceptional service with medals.
Shah proposed the establishment of a model anti-terrorism structure under NIA’s purview, aiming to standardize the hierarchy, structure, and Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) of anti-terrorism agencies across all states. This standardization would enhance coordination between central and state agencies, ensuring a relentless approach against terrorism and preventing the formation of new terrorist organizations.
Shah underscored that the fight against terrorism requires collaboration at the global and grassroots levels, involving various states within the country, as well as international cooperation. He urged NIA, ATS (Anti-Terrorism Squads), and STF (Special Task Forces) to think innovatively and take proactive measures in combating terrorism.
The Home Minister acknowledged the challenges posed by issues like crypto, hawala, terror funding, organized crime syndicates, and narco-terrorism links and stressed the need for vertical and horizontal thinking to address these concerns effectively.
Amit Shah mentioned that the government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, has developed numerous database verticals in the past five years. He emphasized the multidimensional and Artificial Intelligence-based utilization of this data by all agencies at the central and state levels for investigations, prosecutions, prevention, and action against terrorism.
He also called for a common training module for all central and state-level counter-terrorism agencies to standardize their methodologies. Shah lauded the significant reduction in terrorist incidents from 6000 in 2001 to 900 in 2022 and praised NIA for achieving a conviction rate of over 94%. He urged all states to take steps to further increase the conviction rate.
Amit Shah highlighted that terrorism knows no boundaries, and collective efforts are needed to eradicate this menace. He suggested creating five actionable points during each session of the conference for submission to the Union Home Ministry.
The conference is an important step in strengthening India’s fight against terrorism and enhancing coordination among various law enforcement agencies.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister said Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a new dawn of development and peace over the past nine years under the BJP-led government, leading to a 70 per cent decline in terror-related incidents as compared to the previous 10 years.
The Home minister highlighted the significant decline in incidents of violence in the Union Territory during the nine years from June 2014 to August 2023 compared to the 10 years from June 2004 to May 2014.
Terror-related incidents fell from 7,217 during June 2004-May 2014 to 2,197 between June 2014 and August 2023, marking a 70 per cent decline.
He said 2,829 civilian deaths were reported from June 2004 to May 2014. Civilian deaths witnessed an 81 per cent decline from June 2014 to August 2023 with only 336 people losing their lives.
Similarly, fatalities among security forces have witnessed a decline of 48 per cent with 1,060 personnel losing their lives in terror attacks from June 2004 to May 2014 and 555 from June 2014 to August 2023, the home minister said.
