PRAHAAR, meaning “strike,” is India’s first comprehensive National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy, released by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 23 February 2026. The eight-page document consolidates existing counter-terrorism practices into a formal, intelligence-led and proactive national framework. It declares “zero tolerance” for terrorism in all forms while explicitly avoiding any linkage of terrorism to a particular religion, ethnicity, nationality or civilisation. Its approach is based on both a whole-of-government and whole-of-society model.
The strategy is based on seven main pillars: the prevention of terrorist attacks; a quick and proportionate response; the pooling of domestic capabilities; respect for human rights and the rule of law; the reduction of conditions which lend themselves to terrorism; coordination and shaping of international efforts; and recovery and resilience via a whole-of-society approach. These pillars link together prevention, response, prosecution, de-radicalisation, international cooperation and post-attack recovery in one national framework. Together, they create a continuum from prevention and disruption through response and prosecution to recovery and long-term resilience.
The Seven Pillars of PRAHAAR
- Prevention of Terror Attacks
Prevention is the foundation of PRAHAAR. It emphasises an intelligence-guided approach, with the rapid collection and dissemination of intelligence so that threats can be neutralised before they materialise.
The Multi-Agency Center (MAC) and Joint Task Force on Intelligence (JTFI) under the Intelligence Bureau are identified as important platforms for sharing counter-terrorism intelligence between central agencies and State police. Prevention also covers online propaganda and recruitment, overground worker networks, terrorist financing, illegal arms networks, cryptocurrency and dark-web financing, border security and critical infrastructure.
The strategy recognises the changing technological character of terrorism, including drones, encryption and cyber-enabled operations. Power, railways, aviation, ports, defence, space and atomic-energy infrastructure are identified as areas requiring enhanced technological protection. Effective implementation will require close Centre-State intelligence coordination and continued technological modernisation.
- Swift and Proportionate Response
PRAHAAR establishes a multi-layered response mechanism. The local police act as the first responders and are assisted by the specialised State counter-terrorism units and the National Security Guard (NSG) in the case of major attacks. The Central Armed Police Forces can also offer support, and it is the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the State police who carry out the investigations and prosecutions.
The Central, State and district authorities coordinate according to the Standard Operating Procedures and intelligence-sharing arrangements set out by the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the principle of proportionality enables responses to be adjusted in accordance with the nature and extent of an attack, while allowing for rapid escalation if needed.
This framework seeks to strengthen national coordination without eliminating the federal character of India’s security architecture, particularly because policing remains a State subject.
- Aggregating Internal Capacities
The third pillar focuses on strengthening security and law-enforcement institutions through modern equipment, technology, and weaponry; improved training in areas such as tactics and urban combat; standardised counter-terrorism structures and procedures across States; and identification of resource gaps.
An important aim is to reduce differences in the capabilities of the various states and to enhance interoperability among the agencies. Continued funding, the upgrading of technology, and efficient coordination between agencies are still major challenges in terms of implementation.
- Human Rights and Rule of Law
Human rights and the rule of law are clearly included in the strategic framework of PRAHAAR. The anti-terrorism measures provided for in laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and the new criminal codes are in line with the country’s commitment to the Protection of Human Rights Act, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The strategy places a strong emphasis on the use of legal actions, appeals, and supervision at all levels of the judiciary; it therefore seeks to combine effective counter-terrorism measures with respect for due process, although it remains difficult to maintain this balance when urgent security operations come into contact with broad anti-terror powers.
- Addressing Conditions Conducive to Terrorism
PRAHAAR advocates combating radicalisation and terrorist recruitment by means of proportionate police responses, by using legal intervention when necessary, by engaging with community and religious leaders, with NGOs and moderate preachers, by involving youth and by providing de-radicalisation programmes in prisons.
It also identifies socio-economic factors (including poverty, unemployment, education, housing, employment opportunities, scholarships and women’s empowerment) as areas requiring attention in vulnerable communities.
This gives the strategy a preventive dimension beyond intelligence and security operations, with effectiveness depending on sustained community engagement and efforts to address radicalisation without stigmatising communities.
- International Cooperation
Recognising the transnational aspect of terrorism, PRAHAAR advocates for the sharing of intelligence, the conclusion of Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties, the establishment of extradition arrangements, the creation of Joint Working Groups, the signing of MoUs and support for United Nations terrorist designations.
India also seeks cooperation through bilateral and multilateral forums to exchange best practices and build international consensus against state-sponsored terrorism, terrorist financing and safe havens.
The pillar reflects India’s broader effort to strengthen cooperation on financing, designations and technology-related threats.
- Recovery and Resilience
The emphasis on counter-terrorism goes beyond prevention and response to include recovery and resilience. It is expected that civil administrations, professionals, NGOs, communities and private-sector partners should all help with the recovery after an attack, by providing reassurance, carrying out reconstruction and preparing for future threats.
The strategy also calls for technological investment and public-private partnerships to address emerging risks, including the misuse of information and communications technology for terrorism.
Comparative Analysis
China’s Counter-Terrorism Framework
India’s approach is very different from China’s counter-terrorism framework. China does not possess a single public strategy document analogous to PRAHAAR. Rather, its system is based on the 2015 Counter-Terrorism Law, the various amendments to it, the Criminal Law, the National Security Law, the local regulations, and the 2024 white paper, China’s Legal Framework and Measures for Counterterrorism.
The central conceptual difference lies in how the threat is defined. PRAHAAR focuses on terrorism, including cross-border and technology-enabled threats, while China’s framework is organised around the “three evils”: terrorism, separatism, and extremism. Extremism is treated as an important ideological driver of terrorism, with particular attention to separatism and religious extremism in Xinjiang.
There are also differences between the two systems in terms of their institutional arrangements. PRAHAAR operates within a federal democratic system and makes it clear that the protection of human rights and access to judicial remedies are strategic principles. By contrast, China’s approach is more centralised and involves special security agencies as well as wide-ranging state-directed social management; while official Chinese documents emphasise law-based counter-terrorism and the protection of rights, international critics have pointed out issues relating to surveillance, coercive controls, and re-education measures, particularly in Xinjiang.
Their methods of prevention are also different: India focuses on intelligence fusion, the disruption of terrorist financing and logistics, countering online propaganda, securing the borders, and applying graded responses to cases of radicalisation. China, on the other hand, places more emphasis on de-extremification, ideological education, surveillance, and state-directed social management. In both cases, international cooperation, intelligence sharing, counter-financing and actions taken to prevent terrorist organisations from getting safe havens are included.
The 2026 U.S. Counter-Terrorism Strategy
PRAHAAR can likewise be compared with the 2026 U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy, which was issued by the Trump administration on 6 May 2026. Although both documents are formal statements of national policy, they differ in their threat priorities, operational focus, and methods of institutional approach.
PRAHAAR is a concise, principles-based approach that concentrates on intelligence-led prevention, proportionate responses, capacity building, human rights, de-radicalization and resilience. The U.S. strategy is a document of 16 pages based on the ideas of “America First” and “Peace through Strength” and lists narcoterrorists and transnational gangs, as well as legacy Islamist terrorist organisations with the capability of carrying out operations abroad, and violent left-wing extremists as its main categories of threat. It stresses the need to dismantle terrorist networks, disrupt their financing, and enhance burden-sharing among partners.
The different threat priorities reflect distinct national security environments. PRAHAAR is strongly influenced by India’s experience of cross-border terrorism and Pakistan-based terrorist organizations, while also addressing jihadist networks, radicalization and emerging technological threats. The U.S. strategy places greater emphasis on narcoterrorism, transnational gangs, legacy Islamist organizations and violent left-wing extremism.
There are also differences between the two approaches as to the balance they strike between preventive, societal, and operational measures. PRAHAAR includes community engagement, socio-economic interventions, de-radicalisation and whole-of-society resilience; the American strategy, on the other hand, places more emphasis on operational disruption, the destruction of terrorist networks, applying financial pressure and protecting the homeland. Abroad, India stresses multilateral cooperation, UN designations, extradition and intelligence partnerships, whereas the U.S. strategy focuses on partner capacity and burden-sharing.
Comparison Summary. China’s method places a greater emphasis on centralised preventive control and on dealing with extremism and separatism, whereas the 2026 U.S. strategy focuses on homeland protection, network disruption, narcoterrorism, and burden-sharing. Although all three approaches stress prevention, intelligence, and disruption, they differ in the way they define threats, organise authority, and in the balance they strike between security and rights as well as social management.
PRAHAAR: Strategic Significance and Limitations
PRAHAAR is an attempt to provide India’s counter-terrorism system with a coherent strategic framework; its importance consists in integrating intelligence-led prevention, rapid response, institutional capacity, rule-of-law safeguards, de-radicalisation, international cooperation and societal resilience.
The distinguishing feature of PRAHAAR is its effort to incorporate hard security, legal protections, preventive social measures, and societal resilience into one national framework. It combines intelligence-led prevention, rapid response, institutional modernisation, de-radicalisation, international cooperation, and recovery.
At the same time, its principal limitation is its brevity. At eight pages, it is primarily a principles and policy framework rather than a detailed implementation plan. It provides limited agency-specific deliverables, operational metrics, or measurable targets. Implementation will therefore depend on sustained funding, Centre-State cooperation, technological modernisation, and the development of measurable outcomes, particularly in areas such as de-radicalisation and societal resilience.
The true significance of PRAHAAR cannot be assessed simply on the basis of its stated principles, since it will depend upon the effectiveness with which those principles are put into practice through coordinated institutions, and the attainment of concrete results.
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References: –
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