Union Home Minister Amit Shah on October 21, 2022, recommended to Interpol that setting up permanent counter-terrorism and anti-narcotics real-time information exchange platforms would further strengthen the coordination and sustained action by the member countries against the global menaces.
Speaking at the concluding session of the Interpol’s 90th General Assembly, Mr. Shah said India was committed to extending all possible technical and manpower assistance to the global police organisation in this regard.
Describing terrorism as the worst form of human rights violation, the Home Minister said a general consensus would have to be developed on the definitions of “terrorism” and “terrorist”. The narratives of “good” and “bad” terrorism and “small” and “big” terrorism would weaken the fight against the threat which was high on Interpol’s priority list. Also, cross-border terrorism spread through online radicalisation could not be viewed as any political ideology.
“We should ensure that the fight against terrorism is sustained, comprehensive and continuous, for which India is committed to working with the Interpol,” said Mr. Shah, adding that Interpol was the best platform to achieve the objective of countering cross-border terrorism through “across the border cooperation”.
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Mr. Shah said in several countries, Interpol’s nodal agencies and counter-terror organisations were different. For a united response, he suggested that there should be a permanent real-time information exchange line between the counter-terror agencies across the world. A similar approach was required to ensure effective action against the international drug trafficking networks, for which deeper cooperation among the countries, intelligence-based operations, regional maritime security accords and efficient anti-money laundering system were also essential.
“I would suggest that Interpol should prepare a plan for the next 50 years on the basis of its experience and achievements over the past 100 years,” he said, adding that a study team should be formed for the purpose and the plan should be reviewed and updated every five years for the benefit of enforcement agencies worldwide.
The Home Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Central government was continuously taking measures to ensure that the police were always ready to face any challenge. These included establishment of National Forensic Science University; an inter-operable criminal justice system; and linking of e-courts, e-prisons, e-forensics and e-prosecution with the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems.
“The Indian government has also decided to create a national database on crimes such as terrorism, narcotics and economic offences...has established the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, I4C, to combat cyber-crime in a comprehensive manner,” he said.
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