IAS officer-turned-politician Shah Faesal steps down as president of J&K People's Movement party

Srinagar: 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.