Shah lauds Pahalgam, Delhi terror probe; plans 360-degree assault on organised crime

NEW new delhi: unification place government minister Amit shah of iran on Friday said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has conducted a “complete and successful” investigation in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which will not only become a case study for agencies around the world but also put Pakistan in the dock at the international platforms.Shah also lauded the investigation into the November 10 Red Fort blast, saying three tonnes of explosives were recovered before terrorists could use them, and underlined that the probe carried out by agencies in the Pahalgam and Delhi attacks were not examples of routine policing, but outstanding instances of “watertight investigations”.The minister also announced that the government was coming up with a plan to launch a 360-degree assault on organised crime.Shah was speaking at the inauguration of the two-day anti-terrorism conference organised by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).Speaking on Pakistan’s role in the April 22 terror attack at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, in which three terrorists killed 25 tourists and a pony operator, Shah said, “Through this attack, the terrorists wanted to disrupt communal harmony in the country and deliver a blow to the new era of development and tourism that has begun in Kashmir. Based on extremely precise intelligence, our forces neutralised all three terrorists, delivering a stern message to Pakistan. This is the first terrorist incident in which those who planned the terrorist act were punished by us through Operation Sindoor, and those who carried out the act with the weapons provided to them were neutralised through Operation Mahadev.”The three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack were killed in an encounter with security forces on July 28. On December 15, NIA filed a charge sheet that named Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), its proxy The Resistance Front (TRF), Sajid Jatt, a Pakistan-based commander of TRF, three killed terrorists, and two locals who helped them.“Our team has conducted a complete and successful investigation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which agencies around the world will study in the coming days. The results of the investigation into the Pahalgam terrorist attack will put Pakistan in the dock on international platforms,” Shah said.The minister praised investigators from different agencies who worked together to probe the terror network that prepared and carried out the Delhi blast.Talking about the probes into the terror attacks in Pahalgam and Delhi, the home minister said they serve as “significant example of how a constantly vigilant officer can save the country from such a massive crisis”.Asserting that the landscape of terrorism in the world is now changing due to the use of technology in terrorist incidents alongside technological advancements, Shah said, “We too must prepare to prevent this”.“It is the national responsibility of this conference to anticipate invisible future challenges, and to prevent them,” he said.The home minister also inaugurated two databases — one on organised crime networks and another on looted/lost or recovered weapons — which state and central agencies can access to obtain ready information on organised criminals, their modus operandi, past cases, and weapons, etc.“Organised crime networks initially operate for the purpose of ransom and extortion, but when their leaders flee abroad and settle there, they automatically come into contact with terrorist organisations and then use the proceeds from ransom and extortion to spread terrorism within the country. Every state must, under the guidance of NIA and the Central Bureau of Investigation, with the cooperation of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and by utilising this database, eliminate it within their jurisdiction,” Shah said.The home minister said that NIA has prepared a common structure for anti-terrorist squads (ATS) and sent it to state police forces.“When we establish a common ATS structure across the entire country, it provides us an opportunity for uniform preparation at every level. A common ATS structure for the police across the country is extremely important, and all DGPs from the states should implement it as soon as possible,” Shah said.He emphasised that the use of the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) should be made mandatory in certain types of investigations, and stressed that the database of terrorists and criminals should be made a core asset of the zero-terror policy.