Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said that the Islamic countries were backing India’s fight against terrorism.“Seeking a decisive war on terror, all countries of the world are backing India’s effort to do so”, he said during his visit to the city where he inaugurated the National Investigation Agency regional campus.

People wrongly link terrorism with religion, but terrorism did not have any religion and the world was “united now” in believing so. He pointed out that the nation felt the pain across all castes and communities after the February 14 Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF troopers and have condemned this in one voice.

The home minister said: “The truth is that our and your ‘Abhinandan’ and the entire country’s ‘Abhinandan’ will enter India in few hours”. Stating that there was a strategic change in the country’s response to terrorism during the last few years, he said the credit for this should go to the NIA.

It was for the first time, he said, that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation had invited India’s Foreign Minister as the guest of honour. This he said was because the world believes India has risen above caste and religion and treated all its citizens equally. Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking a tough stand for eradicating terrorism from the Indian soil, he said India’s position was not compromised in seeking the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has disclosed had approved a proposal of the NIA to open a research cell on the Islamic State terror group. He said 100 new posts were sanctioned for the NIA for effective investigation and supervision.

This newly inaugurated NIA’s Hyderabad office will cover the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The minister also inaugurated the agency’s Guwahati office via video conference. This office will cover all the northeastern states. He said terrorism was a major challenge not just for India but for the entire global community.