SRINAGAR: Shah Faesal was appointed Tuesday as deputy secretary on deputation in the Union culture ministry in Delhi, in what is seen as a full circle for the 2010-batch Kashmiri IAS topper who had quit the civil services in 2019, floated a political party the same year, walked away from politics and returned to his former job.
The AGMUT-cadre officer was appointed for four years from the date of taking charge, or until further orders.
Faesal had quit bureaucracy on January 9, 2019, and tweeted soon after that “rapes in India have become rampant and Kashmiris are not treated well by the dispensation”. He then went to the US on a Fulbright scholarship. Upon his return, he floated the J&K Peoples Movement party and was detained ahead of the Centre revoking Article 370 in August. After his release, he quit politics and said: “I want to move on and do something productive in life.”
Faesal was reinstated by the department of personnel and training (DoPT), but the J&K government wrote to the Centre that he should not be posted in the Union territory. Hence, the Union ministry selected him for the post in Delhi.