Kashmiri IAS Topper Shah Faesal Resigns: Report

Srinagar: An IAS topper from Jammu and Kashmir, Shah Faesal, has reportedly resigned from the service to join politics.

Quoting sources, The Print reported that the 2010 batch topper sought voluntary retirement on Monday to join the Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference.

“He applied for voluntary retirement the day before, but the process takes time since it has to be approved by the DoPT,” a source familiar with the development told ThePrint.

Faesal, it said, has just returned to India from a stint as a Fulbright fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Faesal cleared the civil services exam in 2009, becoming the first Kashmiri to top the test. After joining the IAS, he was appointed director of school education in the Kashmir Valley.

Last year, inquiry was launched against him for a remark on rampant rapes in south Asia. Criticising the rape culture in the region, Faesal had referred to south Asia as “Rapistan”.