STATE TIMES NEWS
New Delhi: Emphasising that terrorism is the biggest violator of human rights, Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said cross-border propagation of terrorist ideologies through online radicalisation cannot be considered as “political problem”.
Addressing the concluding session of the 90th Interpol General Assembly, he said all countries must come together to have a common definition of terrorism and terrorists.
Security situation improved in J&K, NE LWE areas in last 8 years
New Delhi: Union Home minister Amit Shah on Friday said the security situation in the insurgency-hit areas of the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir as well as in the states affected by Naxal violence has improved over the last eight years of the Narendra Modi government.
Shah said this while addressing top police and paramilitary commanders at the National Police Memorial in the Chanakyapuri area here on the occasion of the National Police Commemoration Day.
“In the northeast, we have removed the special powers given to the armed forces (under the AFSPA) and instead, given special powers to the youngsters there, resulting in a decline of violence in these areas by more than 70 per cent,” he said.
The situation in Jammu and Kashmir is such that those who used to hurl stones at security personnel earlier have now become “panches” and “sarpanches”, Shah added.
In the states affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE), the national anthem is being sung in Eklavya schools while the national flag flutters on these buildings, he added.
Shah said India is proceeding on the path of development due to the sacrifices made by the police and paramilitary personnel across the country.
Paying his tributes to these personnel, he said they played a leading role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Police Commemoration Day is observed in the memory of 10 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel who were killed on this day in 1959 in an ambush by Chinese troops in Ladakh’s Hot Spring area.
“We cannot fight terrorists and terrorism globally unless there is a common definition of both. Commitment to fight terrorism and differentiating good or bad terrorism or classifying terror attacks as big or small cannot go together,” he said.
Shah said there must be a consensus on the cross-border propagation of terrorist ideologies through online radicalisation.
“We cannot consider this to be a political problem. We must all be committed to ensuring that an effective fight against terrorism should be long-term, comprehensive and sustainable,” he said.
Interpol is the best platform to achieve “across border cooperation” which is must to defeat “cross border terrorism”, he said.
The home minister said in many countries Interpol nodal agency and counter terrorism agencies are different.
“Given this situation, in order to fight terrorism, we will have to bring together all the counter-terrorism agencies of the world,” he said.
Shah asked Interpol to develop a permanent communication channel between counter terror agencies of the countries where real time information and intelligence can be shared among countries.
He said India is committed to work with Interpol to counter all forms of global terrorism providing its technical and human resources.
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put forward his vision of a drugs-free India, he said.
There is a need to establish platform for exchange of intelligence and information among countries to counter illicit narco-trade, he said.
“There should be exchange of information, joint campaigns, regional maritime cooperation, mutual legal assistance, effective mechanism to tackle money laundering to combat narco-terrorism and narco-smuggling,” he said underlining successes achieved by Narcotics Control Bureau recently.
The Interpol general assembly is being organised in New Delhi to coincide with the 75th anniversary year of India’s independence.
Shah said the current crime incidents are “borderless” and all the Interpol member countries will have to rise to meet this challenge and the global police organisation’s role in tackling these issues is “very important.”
He said the Modi government is trying its best to make police forces capable of dealing with all kinds of challenges.
Shah said India is preparing a national database on terrorism and narcotics so that police agencies can use information effectively.
He also said citizens’ security is the first priority of any police force.
“The way criminal syndicates are using modern technology to work internationally, I do not see why countries across the globe should not cooperate or coordinate. It’s a dual challenge before our police and law enforcement agencies, on one side they have to implement law within sovereign boundaries of a country and on the other hand they have to handle the global nature of criminals operating across borders,” he said.