New Delhi: The Union government is in the final stages of drafting India’s first comprehensive anti-terror policy, The Hindu reported, citing a senior government official.

The move follows an announcement made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in November last year.

Addressing a conference, Shah said that NIA is not just an investigating agency and under its aegis, anti-terrorist activities across the country should be compiled and promoted, and measures should be taken so that the investigating agency stands firmly in the court and the anti-terror mechanism is strengthened.

He also announced that the Ministry of Home Affairs will soon introduce a National Counter-Terrorism Policy & Strategy to fight terrorism, terrorists, and the entire ecosystem supporting them.

According to the Hindu report, an official of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) confirmed that the process is nearing completion.

“The Home Ministry is finalising the document and the NIA has also given its inputs,” the official said. The agency is set to host a two-day anti-terror conference on December 26 and 27, during which key aspects of the policy are expected to be outlined.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack, the NIA held a series of meetings with anti-terror units from across States to review existing mechanisms and discuss additional preventive measures. These deliberations included greater use of the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), a secure platform that allows authorised law-enforcement agencies to access multiple government and non-government databases to aid investigations and threat assessment.

At the international level, India has also reiterated its stance against terrorism and its enablers. In November, New Delhi urged the United Nations Security Council to adopt a zero-tolerance approach towards individuals and entities involved in financing terrorism or facilitating the illicit flow of weapons.

Speaking at a UN debate on small arms, India’s Permanent Representative, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, said the country has faced cross-border terrorism for decades, much of it driven by illegal arms trafficking. In a veiled reference to Pakistan, he cautioned that the diversion of small arms to non-state actors and terrorist organisations constitutes a serious global threat that demands a coordinated international response.