Opinion: India's Anti-Terrorism Security Apparatus Is Robust

News18

18 hours ago

The messaging to the world is now more clear, i.e., India will always act in self-defence, which is a sharp shift from the past doctrine of strategic restraint
Some recent reports have surfaced in the public domain suggesting that India's anti-terror operations in the thick and mostly inaccessible forests of Jammu and Kashmir have not been as successful as projected.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The factual position on the ground reveals that while there have been casualties on both sides, be it Indian troops or the terrorists, the battle being played out in this inhospitable terrain reveals that the enemy is in a much weaker position today than it ever was in the past two-and-a-half decades. The fight is ongoing and far from over.
Terrorism and insurgency in India are primarily linked to political, religious, ethnic, ideological, identity driven, linguistic or socio-economic grievances. It is broadly divided into three distinct categories, viz. cross border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, terrorism in the hinterland and extreme violence being a part of ongoing insurgencies.
India remains highly vulnerable to attacks by terrorists due to its porous borders in the west, north and northeast, besides its insufficiently protected long coastline. Terrorists and insurgents entering or residing in India continue to receive lavish material support and funds from many sources, especially from agencies located abroad.
Over the last decade or more, India has demonstrated stronger political will to strengthen border security, giving a free hand to security and intelligence agencies to gather, collate, coordinate and act on information, enact stricter laws to combat terrorism. Internationally, India has reworked its strategy, to disprove foreign sceptics and address cross-border terrorism and prevent the financing of terrorists.
We do not have to go too far back in time to see the success that India has achieved in countering terror. Three incidents stand out quite emphatically, sending out a firm message to regional inimical elements and to the larger international community that India is no pushover.
In 2016, the Indian Army conducted a series of strikes in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) at the end of September. Those strikes were a calculated hard response to a Pakistan-trained terrorist attack on an Indian Army base in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir on September 18, 2016, which claimed the lives of 19 soldiers.
Four terrorists linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed carried out the attack on the Uri army base. The Indian government decided to retaliate with surgical strikes to send out a message to Pakistan that India would not tolerate cross-border terrorism. New Delhi described the counter as a 'pre-emptive strike" to disrupt terrorist activities from across the LoC. The strikes were significant as they were the first of their kind against Pakistan.
Crossing the LoC under the cover of darkness, Indian Army commandos targeted and eliminated seven terrorist launch pads. The Indian government confirmed the killing of 35-40 terrorists, a claim dismissed by Pakistan. On February 14, 2019, a bus carrying Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers, which was part of a convoy of 78 vehicles, was targeted in Pulwama by a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) suicide bomber. He rammed his explosives-laden car into the bus, killing 40 CRPF personnel.
Biding its time, the Indian government ordered the country's air force to carry out an air strike in Balakot, Pakistan, on February 26, targeting terror camps. It was the first such aerial action against Pakistan since the 1971 war, sparking retaliatory raids and an aerial dogfight. Fortunately, it did not escalate into a full-scale war, but it put an alarmed wider world on notice that India would not take attacks on its soil or on its people lightly.
The third and most telling response to Pakistan's 'misadventures" has been 'Operation Sindoor". The operation was a balanced armed forces response to the killing of 26 innocent Indian civilians in Pahalgam, J&K on April 22, 2025. It reflected India's advanced technology, commitment to gathering precise intelligence and exhibited her self-reliance in defence. Nine terror training camps, including the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba and
Jaish-e-Mohammed, were damaged with precise missile strikes, without crossing the Line of Control or the International Border.
When Pakistan responded by targeting Indian civilians and defence establishments, India effectively used its defence shields and drones to neutralise eleven Pakistani air bases, disrupting the mobility and operational momentum of Pakistan Air Force, and ensuring that Pakistan could not sustain a second or third wave of escalation. It used its advanced military technologies to send out a clear message to Islamabad that it would do well not to mess with New Delhi.
Several factors are at the root of India's counter terrorism successes. These are enhanced intelligence gathering through multiple agencies, including the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) (internal intelligence); better inter-agency cooperation overseen by the Joint Intelligence Committee and the Intelligence Bureau; establishing specialized units like the National Security Guard (NSG) and Anti-Terrorism Squads (ATS) to handle specific terrorist threats; improved border security; giving more teeth to laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to strengthen punitive measures against terrorism and related activities.
Establishing the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to investigate and prosecute terror-related offences; actively raising the issue of cross-border terrorism in various international forums, including the United Nations, G20, and FATF; promoting capacity building in other countries through training, experience sharing, and technical cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts; working with international partners to address the financing of terrorism.
In addition, introducing de-radicalisation programs that focus on education, skills development and jobs; promoting public awareness and participation in counter-terrorism efforts; demonstrating the will to respond with punitive measures against sponsors of terrorism and using technology, including Artificial Intelligence, to neutralise terror threats.
By combining these elements, India has created a comprehensive and effective counter-terrorism ecosystem that strikes at the very heart of violent anti-social activity. This has been emphatically demonstrated over the past more than two years through anti-terror operations in dense mountain belts, even if it has come at the cost of casualties.
The Indian Army and other law enforcement agencies have pushed their full technological arsenal and might into ferreting out militants from mountain caves, deep forests and natural hideouts.
Security experts admit to the changing colour of militancy, but are confident about striking hard and causing maximum damage to inimical forces. They are constantly aware of the need to adapt without walking into deadly traps. The fact of the matter is that any terrorist attack on India will be met with a strong and resolute response, with India retaliating on its own terms, targeting terror hubs at their root.
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India is also on record as saying that it will not be intimidated by nuclear threats and warned that any terrorist safe haven operating under this pretext will face precise and decisive strikes. The messaging to the world is now more clear, i.e., India will always act in self-defence, which is a sharp shift from the past doctrine of strategic restraint.
The author is Editor, Brighter Kashmir, author, TV commentator, political analyst and columnist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author.
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Location :
Jammu and Kashmir, India, India
First Published:
August 17, 2025, 14:08 IST
News opinion Opinion: India's Anti-Terrorism Security Apparatus Is Robust
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