On Monday in New Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah opened the conference on ‘PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy’ and called for institutionalising an automated response mechanism at every level of the counter‑terror framework. He stressed the need for zero delay in counter‑terrorism operations and launched a new extradition portal that will bring together the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Central Bureau of Investigation and state agencies on a single platform. The portal is intended to streamline the process of bringing fugitives back to India when they are detained abroad and an extradition request is sent to the competent court.
Shah urged state police forces to form dedicated teams that work closely with central agencies on extradition cases. He highlighted that from 2019 to 2026 the Modi government successfully returned 288 fugitive criminals to India from 36 countries. The conference also focused on the seven pillars of the PRAHAAR strategy—Prevention, Response, Aggregating Internal Capacities, Human Rights, Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism, Aligning International Efforts, and Recovery and Resilience—emphasising a result‑oriented approach at each level.
The minister cited recent successes stemming from better coordination among agencies: more than 40 modules of the Shahzad Bhatti network involved in cross‑border smuggling were busted, over 100 FIRs were registered and 350 individuals were arrested across 15 states. He noted that the Modi government declared the Shahzad Bhatti network a terrorist organisation under the UAPA. The conference was attended by senior officials including the Union Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, heads of Central Armed Police Forces and Central Police Organisations, directors‑general of police from 15 states and Anti‑Terrorism Squad chiefs from all states and Union territories, with additional state police chiefs and senior officers joining virtually.
