Security agencies competent enough to tackle terror challenge: Rajnath Singh

NEW DELHI: While stating that the authenticity of the al-Qaida announcing the establishment of an Indian wing was still being established, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said the security establishment was nevertheless competent and fully geared to face the challenge.

"The security agencies are still examining the al-Qaida video...but however daunting is the challenge from al-Qaida or Islamic State (IS), our agencies are fully prepared to counter it," he said adding that there was no reason for the people to fear anything.

In the video that surfaced on social media earlier this month, top al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri can be seen exhorting his "Muslim brothers" to "raise the flag of jihad in the (Indian) subcontinent and defend the "vulnerable in...Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad and Kashmir". This prompted the Centre to sound an alert in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and step up surveillance on social media sites.

The home minister on Friday sought to play down fears of large-scale recruitment of Indian youths by international terror outfits, particularly the IS that is said to have recently attracted four Mumbai youth to join its fight in the Iraq-Syria region. "On the basis of our inputs, it cannot be said that these outfits are recruiting from India," Singh said and recalled how most Islamic outfits in India have refused to endorse attempts to lure Indian Muslim youth into global jihad.

"All our Islamic organizations have condemned reports about IS recruitment here. Everybody wants that communal harmony should be maintained, and that there should be politics of justice and humanity. The approach of Islamic organizations in the country has been completely positive," he said.

Meanwhile, the home minister revealed that the Indian intelligence agencies had made a detailed assessment of the likely impact of western forces' withdrawal from Afghanistan, on India's internal security. "We have built this threat assessment into our internal security policy and are fully prepared to meet any eventuality," Singh said without giving further details.

Elaborating on the border management measures initiated by his ministry, Singh said instructions had gone to the border forces to deal sternly with cross-border firing. "New surveillance and technical solutions are being implemented," he added.

The home minister plans to visit the country's various borders over the next couple of months to identify any gaps and discuss ways of plugging them. This includes coastal borders.

Singh is just back from a two-day visit of the border areas in Kutchh, Gujarat.

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