In letter to govt, Faesal doesn’t take high moral ground

Ishfaq Tantry

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, January 10

Shah Faesal, the first IAS topper from J&K who has resigned from service, has not taken a high moral ground in his resignation letter to the J&K Government. On the social platform on Wednesday, however, he cited “unabated killings in Kashmir and lack of political outreach” by New Delhi as the reasons for quitting.

In a brief ‘letter of intimation’ to the J&K Government through the Chief Secretary dated January 4, sources revealed, Faesal simply wrote “that he wants to work towards peace-building” while showing his intent to resign from the services.

Faesal, who qualified and topped the Civil Services exam in 2010, made his decision to resign from service public on January 9, but he had intimated the J&K Government about his decision on January 4, sources disclosed.

“In a letter to the Chief Secretary, Shah Faesal has simply said that he wants to work towards peace-building and start a new phase in life. Faesal has not mentioned the reasons which he put out in Facebook,” an official source disclosed.

Faesal in the letter, however, has added that a formal letter of resignation would follow in which he would give in detail the reasons for tendering the resignation, the source added.

“As per procedure, one has to intimate/inform the state Chief Secretary about the intent to resign. But the final accepting authority in the case of an IAS officer is the Government of India and normally such resignations are accepted,” an official said.