Former IAS officer Shah Faesal, who quit politics last year following his detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA), is likely to be appointed as advisor to Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha. He will advice the Lieutenant Governor and the administration on local matters, top sources told CNN-News18.
Interestingly, Faesal’s appointment, which is likely to be announced soon, has come at a time when civilian killings have seen a sharp rise in the Valley. Seven civilians, including four from minority communities, have been killed by militants in five days in Kashmir.
Shah Faesal, who topped the IAS exam in 2009, was hailed as youth icon for those in the Valley. He had resigned from the Indian Civil services in January 2019 and floated a new political party in Jammu and Kashmir that same year in August. But he abruptly quit politics last year amid speculation that he may return to government service. Even though his political venture went into cold storage, Faesal has a deep connect with the people in the Valley, and, sources say, him being roped in for a state role, will help the Centre make communication inroads with the youth in J&K.This would be beginning of political dialogue," said a government sources.
The 37-year-old tendered his resignation from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in January 2019 to launch a new regional party — Jammu and Kashmir Poeple’s Movemnet (JKPM) — of which he became the first president. He was the first candidate from the erstwhile state who topped the civil services exam.
Faesal, a 2010 batch officer, was strongly critical of the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5 in 2019 and was arrested from Delhi airport days later before he could board a flight to Turkey. He was subsequently taken into preventive detention and later booked under the draconian Public Safety Act from which he was released in June. |
