New Delhi: India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has officially launched PRAHAAR, marking the country’s inaugural comprehensive National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy. Unveiled on February 23, 2026, this landmark document establishes a unified, forward-looking framework to tackle terrorism in its multifaceted forms amid rapidly evolving security challenges.
The policy, now publicly accessible on the MHA website as an eight-page document, embodies India’s longstanding “zero tolerance” stance toward terrorism and any form of violence. It explicitly rejects any linkage between terrorism and specific religion, ethnicity, nationality, or civilization, while reaffirming unwavering commitment to victim support and denial of justifications for terror acts under any pretext.
“PRAHAAR,” translating to “strike” in Hindi, cleverly serves as an acronym encapsulating seven foundational pillars guiding India’s counter-terrorism efforts:
- Prevention of terror attacks to safeguard Indian citizens and interests
- Responses that are swift and proportionate to identified threats
- Aggregating internal capacities to foster synergy via a whole-of-government model
- Human rights and rule-of-law-based processes for threat mitigation
- Attenuating conditions that enable terrorism, including radicalization
- Aligning and shaping international efforts against terrorism
- Recovery and resilience built through a whole-of-society approach
This structured doctrine shifts India’s approach from primarily reactive measures to proactive, intelligence-driven disruption of terror ecosystems.
Detailed Threat Landscape Outlined in PRAHAAR
The policy provides a candid assessment of persistent and emerging dangers confronting national security. Cross-border state-sponsored terrorism remains a primary and enduring challenge, with jihadi outfits and affiliated networks actively planning, coordinating, and executing attacks inside India. Global entities like Al-Qaeda and ISIS persist in efforts to radicalize youth, establish sleeper cells, and incite violence through online propaganda.
Foreign-based handlers exploit cutting-edge technologies, notably drones for smuggling and terror facilitation, particularly in sensitive border regions such as Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. A worrying trend involves deepening convergence between terrorist groups and organized crime syndicates, which supply logistics, illegal arms, funding channels, and recruitment support.
Digital domains have become critical enablers for extremists. Social media, encrypted instant messaging apps, dark web platforms, and cryptocurrency wallets allow anonymous propaganda dissemination, radicalization drives, recruitment, operational coordination, and terror financing. The policy flags the persistent difficulty in intercepting attempts by state or non-state actors to acquire and deploy CBRNED materials—Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive, and Digital—alongside misuse of drones, robotics, and cyber tools for potential mass-casualty incidents.
Threats extend across all domains: land, water, and air. Criminal hackers and hostile nation-states increasingly launch cyber-attacks targeting India, while critical infrastructure sectors—power installations, railways, aviation networks, ports, defense facilities, space assets, and atomic energy establishments—face risks from both state and non-state adversaries.
Core Elements of the PRAHAAR Counter-Terrorism Strategy
Prevention forms the bedrock, relying on proactive, intelligence-guided operations. The Multi Agency Centre (MAC) and Joint Task Force on Intelligence (JTFI), housed within the Intelligence Bureau, serve as pivotal hubs for real-time threat sharing among central agencies and state police forces. Agencies must dismantle over-ground worker networks, choke terror financing streams, disrupt illegal arms supplies, and counter online extremist ecosystems systematically.
Enhanced border surveillance employs advanced technologies across land, maritime, and aerial frontiers to detect intrusions early. Critical infrastructure receives fortified protection layers.
Response mechanisms designate local police as initial first responders, augmented by state specialized anti-terror units and central forces. The National Security Guard (NSG) stands as the nodal national counter-terror force under MHA for major incidents, while providing training support to state units. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), alongside state agencies, leads thorough investigations aimed at achieving high prosecution and conviction rates to create strong deterrence.
Capacity aggregation involves modernizing law enforcement with updated equipment, infrastructure, and specialized training delivered through the Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D). Standardization of anti-terrorism structures and operating procedures across states bridges coordination gaps and ensures uniform responses.
Human rights and rule-of-law adherence anchors operations firmly within constitutional guarantees, international obligations, and domestic safeguards. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) remains the core anti-terror legislation, complemented by recent criminal justice reforms including Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. Multiple judicial oversight levels—from district courts to the Supreme Court—guarantee legal redressal and civil liberties protection.
Conditions conducive to terrorism receive targeted attention through counter-radicalization initiatives. Vulnerable youth undergo graded police interventions rather than immediate criminalization. Community leaders, moderate religious preachers, NGOs, civil society, and prison authorities collaborate on awareness programs, youth engagement, prison monitoring to curb inmate indoctrination, and de-radicalization efforts. Socio-economic measures—welfare schemes, scholarships, employment generation, education access—address root causes like poverty and unemployment exploited by extremists.
International alignment prioritizes multilateral cooperation via Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs), extradition agreements, joint working groups, and intelligence exchanges. India pushes for UN designations of terrorist entities, denial of safe havens, and global terror financing restrictions, while advocating a comprehensive international framework on terrorism and victim rights.
Recovery and resilience promote public-private partnerships and whole-of-society involvement for rapid post-incident restoration, preparedness enhancement, and long-term community strength.
Path Forward and Institutional Reforms
Looking ahead, PRAHAAR calls for ongoing legal refinements, deeper investigative expertise integration (including early legal expert involvement from FIR registration through prosecution), uniform state-level counter-terror mechanisms, and sustained investment in emerging technologies to counter future risks. The framework treats terrorism as a multidimensional national security issue requiring constant adaptation, not merely a law-and-order concern.
Announced amid heightened regional instability and ungoverned spaces facilitating threats, PRAHAAR institutionalizes decades of India’s counter-terror experience into a dynamic, technology-integrated posture. Security analysts view it as a significant step toward a proactive “whole-of-government” model, especially against converging threats like the China-Pakistan nexus and advanced digital warfare.
By formalizing these principles, the government aims to dismantle terror networks comprehensively, protect citizens, uphold accountability through judicial processes, and build enduring societal resilience against all manifestations of terrorism.
FAQs
1. What is PRAHAAR and why was it launched in 2026?
PRAHAAR is India’s first comprehensive National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy, released by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on February 23, 2026. The word “PRAHAAR” means “strike” in Hindi and also serves as an acronym for its seven core pillars: Prevention, Response, Aggregating capacities, Human rights compliance, Attenuating conditions conducive to terrorism, Aligning international efforts, and Recovery/resilience.
It was launched to formalize and unify India’s long-standing “zero tolerance” approach into a single, publicly available doctrine that addresses both traditional threats (cross-border terrorism) and modern challenges (cyber radicalization, drone attacks, cryptocurrency terror financing, and CBRNED risks).
2. What are the main threats highlighted in the PRAHAAR policy?
The policy identifies several persistent and emerging dangers:
• Cross-border state-sponsored terrorism (especially from across India’s borders)
• Global jihadist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS trying to activate sleeper cells and radicalize Indian youth
• Growing nexus between terrorists and organized crime syndicates for logistics, arms, funding, and recruitment
• Use of advanced technology: drones (particularly in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir), encrypted messaging, dark web, social media propaganda, and crypto wallets for anonymous funding
• Attempts by state or non-state actors to acquire Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive, and Digital (CBRNED) materials
• Cyber-attacks by criminal hackers and hostile nation-states targeting critical infrastructure (power, railways, aviation, ports, defence, space, atomic energy)
3. What are the seven pillars of the PRAHAAR framework?
The policy is built around seven pillars (reflected in the name):
- Prevention of terror attacks through intelligence-led operations (Multi Agency Centre & Joint Task Force on Intelligence as key nodes)
- . Swift and proportionate Response — local police as first responders, supported by state forces and NSG (nodal national counter-terror force)
- Aggregating Capacities — modernizing police forces, standardizing anti-terror structures across states, and specialized training
- Human rights and rule-of-law-based processes — strict adherence to constitutional guarantees, UAPA, new criminal laws, and multiple levels of judicial oversight
- Attenuating conditions conducive to terrorism — counter-radicalisation programs, community engagement, youth outreach, prison monitoring, and socio-economic interventions
- Aligning and shaping international efforts — strengthening MLATs, extradition treaties, UN designations, and global denial of safe havens & terror funding
- Recovery and Resilience — whole-of-society and public-private partnerships for rapid post-attack recovery
4. How does PRAHAAR address radicalisation and online extremism?
The policy places strong emphasis on prevention before criminalisation. Key measures include:
• Early identification of vulnerable youth followed by graded police response
• Engagement of community leaders, moderate religious preachers, NGOs, and civil society to counter extremist narratives
• Awareness campaigns on the dangers of radicalisation
• Monitoring and de-radicalisation efforts inside prisons to prevent indoctrination by hardcore inmates
• Systematic disruption of online extremist ecosystems (social media, encrypted apps, dark web propaganda)
• Linking counter-radicalisation with developmental programs (education, employment, scholarships) to reduce socio-economic vulnerabilities exploited by terror groups
5. Does PRAHAAR change existing anti-terror laws like UAPA?
No, PRAHAAR does not replace or amend existing laws; it provides an overarching strategic framework.
It reaffirms the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as the principal anti-terror legislation and integrates it with the newly enacted criminal justice codes (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam).
The policy stresses that all operations must remain firmly within constitutional protections, international human rights commitments, and multiple layers of judicial review — from district courts to the Supreme Court — to balance security needs with civil liberties.
