India unveils PRAHAAR, new intelligence-led counterterror doctrine

NEW DELHI: India's new counter-terrorism doctrine, PRAHAAR, introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs in February 2026, is being viewed as a major shift from reactive security measures to a coordinated, intelligence-led strategy. A review by S Rajaratnam School of International Studies researcher Jasminder Singh described it as India's first comprehensive counterterrorism framework with potential to reshape Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asian security cooperation.

The doctrine is built on seven pillars, including prevention, rapid response, intelligence coordination, rule of law, deradicalisation, international cooperation, and resilience. It relies heavily on intelligence sharing through the Multi Agency Centre (MAC) and Joint Task Force on Intelligence (JTFI) under the Intelligence Bureau.

PRAHAAR comes amid continued threats from Pakistan-based groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. The review cited attacks like the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and the 2025 Pahalgam attack as examples of gaps in intelligence coordination. (ANI)

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