India continues to face a high degree of terrorist threats on several fronts, in particular, cross-border terrorism. Addressing the Interpol General Assembly in Rome, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde asserted that countering violent extremism and in particular terrorism, is a key global challenge of today.

He said, terrorism in South Asia has increasingly emerged as an effective strategic weapon. Terrorist groups have demonstrated that with simple tactics and low tech weapons, they can produce vastly disproportionate results as it happened in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

He said India is committed to combating terrorism and extremism in all forms, and added , India has adopted a system to counter terrorism that gives primacy to dialogue, democratic political processes and the rule of law, and we deal with terrorism within the ambit of this structure.

Shinde further said at the international level, India has been supportive of all efforts, particularly in the UN, to combat terrorism and has played a leading role in shaping international opinion and urging the international community to prioritize the fight against terror.

He said international cooperation on matters relating to terrorism is also effected through the mechanism of Interpol, of which India has been a member since 1949.