New Delhi

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has directed the concerned authorities to undertake dedicated measures to bring back fugitives involved in terrorist and smuggling activities.

Inaugurating a two-day National Security Strategies conference here on Friday, Shah also stressed enhancing inter-agency coordination between central and state law enforcement agencies, besides recalibrating the approach towards disrupting domestic nodes of the terror-criminal nexus, an official statement said.

Reviewing terror financing mechanisms, Shah directed the agencies to unearth terror modules by analysing inputs about financial irregularities.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has also been asked to ensure that only indigenous technology is used by the police.

The home minister directed the agencies to undertake dedicated measures to bring back fugitives involved in terrorist and smuggling activities, the statement said.

The first day of the conference focused on the role of external actors who are inimical to the interests of the nation and their domestic linkages, including involvement in the narcotics trade.

Challenges posed by illegal use of encrypted communication apps and other latest technologies, use of technology for crowd management and security of uninhabited islands were also deliberated, besides discussing issues related to terror financing.

The home ministry was asked to set up a forum with the stakeholders across the spectrum to come up with solutions to counter the use of encrypted communication by terror networks.

The conference was held in a hybrid format, combining physical and virtual modes. Around 800 officers from across the country deliberated on various subjects related to national security.

The DGPs of states and UTs, as also young police officers at the cutting-edge level and domain experts from specialised fields, joined the meeting from the respective state capitals through virtual mode.

The second day of the conference on Saturday will focus on civil aviation and port security, counter terrorism, left-wing extremism and countermeasures for narcotics trafficking.

At the DGPs/IGPs conference-2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had directed to hold the national security strategies conference every year, to find solutions to major national security challenges using the extensive experience of cutting-edge level officers working at the grassroots level in collaboration with domain experts.

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In compliance with the directions of the prime minister, the conference has been held in hybrid mode for wider participation since 2021, the statement said.