Kashmir: Faesal quits politics, may rejoin IAS
Resignation from IAS remains unaccepted
Shah Faesal, who resigned from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and floated the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement (JKPM) last year, resigned as its president, the party said on Monday.
Mr Faesal, the 2010 IAS topper, had dropped a hint about stepping away from politics on Sunday as he edited his personal details on Twitter, removing the reference to his political affiliations.
As per a statement issued by the JKPM, Mr Faesal has informed the party’s state executive members that he is “not in a position to continue with political activists and wanted to be freed from the responsibilities of the organisation.” The statement added that keeping in view his request, it was decided to accept his resignation “so that he can better continue with his life and contribute whichever way he chooses.”
The statement further said that former minister and JKPM chairman Javed Mustafa Mir has also quit. He had joined the JKPM after leaving the PDP last year.
Mr Faesal changed his Twitter bio late Sunday evening even though he has not tweeted since August last year. It now reads “Edward S Fellow @HKS Harvard University. Medico. Fulbright. Centrist.”
The last time he took to the micro-blogging site was on August 13, 2019, when he retweeted a
◗ After spending nearly 10 months in makeshift jails, the 36-year-old bureaucrat-turned-politician was released on June 3 this year. He did not react to reports that he was among the J&K’s politicians who were set free after they signed a bond agreeing to cease their political activities.
tweet of BBC’s Hardtalk show host Stephen Sackur which quoted him as saying, “India has ‘murdered’ democracy (in Jammu and Kashmir)... the choice is to be a stooge or a separatist”.
Mr Sackur had said this was a “deeply depressing analysis of #Kashmir situation from @shahfaesal, the voice of a Kashmiri ‘moderate’”, after J&K was stripped of its special status and split into two Union Territories by the Centre on August 5 last year. Mr Faesal was soon detained by the police and subsequently booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA).
After spending nearly 10 months in makeshift ■
■ Continued from Page 1 jails here, the 36-year-old bureaucrat-turned-politician was released on June 3 this year. He did not make any statement after his release and didn’t even react to reports appearing in a section of the media that he was among the J&K’s politicians and activists who were set free by the authorities after they signed a bond agreeing to cease their political activities.
Mr Faesal took the country by storm after quitting his job in January 2019.
On March 17, 2019, he floated a new political party in J&K, calling it a sincere and creative effort to change the political environs of the restive state. The dominant slogan of the party, named Jammu and Kashmir Peoples’ Movement (JKPM), would be – “Ab Hawa Badlay Gi (now there will be wind of change)”, he had said at a rally here on that day. He had also announced, “I’ve come here not to engage in traditional or regional politics but together with my team and the people who are joining us to seek an amicable solution of the Kashmir problem as per the wishes and aspirations of its people.” He had, however, also asserted that the new party believes in shortening the distance between Delhi and Srinagar and will act as a catalyst towards resolving the Kashmir issue. Official sources here said that Mr Faesal’s resignation as IAS officer has not still been accepted. Even after his submitting resignation 20 months ago, his name has not been removed from the list of J&K cadre IAS officers on the official website of the government.