Shah Faesal steps down as JKPM president, likely to join back administration

Shah Faesal, who resigned from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and floated the Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement (JKPM) last year, has resigned as its president, the party said on Monday.

Faesal 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.

He could not be contacted for comments.

The JKPM's executive committee held an online meeting on Monday to discuss the ongoing political developments in the state, the party said in a statement.

"In the meeting, request of Dr Shah Faesal to spare him from the organisational responsibilities was discussed. Dr Shah Faesal had informed state executive members that he is not in a position to continue with political activities and wants to be freed from the responsibilities of the organisation," the JKPM said.

"Keeping in view this request, it was decided to accept his request so that he can better continue with his life and contribute whichever way he chooses," the party said.

The JKPM statement said it has been unanimously decided to appoint vice president Feroze Peerzada as interim president till formal elections can be held for the post of president.

The committee also accepted the resignation of its chairman Javed Mustafa Mir, who is a former MLA, it said.

Faesal, who surprised everyone by resigning from the government service in January 2019, had floated his own political party two months later.

He was arrested in August last year, a week after the Centre revoked the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and divided it into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Faesal was booked under the stringent Public Safety Act later on and released in June.

Interestingly, despite Faesal submitting his resignation and forming a political party called the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement (JKPM), his name was not removed from the list of J&K cadre IAS officers on the official website of the government. He topped the 2010 civil services exam and was allotted his home cadre of the IAS.

Known as an honest and upright officer, Faesal's well wishers had cautioned him in 2018, when he resigned to join politics, that politics might not be his cup of tea.

Sources in Srinagar also said the government has recently "send him feelers that they are not averse to his joining back the civil service".

If he chooses to join back, Faesal would have created another record for the shortest political career in Jammu and Kashmir.

He founded the JKPM in early 2019 amid much fanfare and expectations of an alternative political platform for the youth of J&K.

With input from agencies