Shah Faesal rejects offer from separatist camp

SRINAGAR: Three days after quitting his job as an Indian Administrative Services officer, Shah Faesal on Friday rejected the offer of joining the separatist camp and confirmed that he was to take a plunge in the mainstream politics.

Prominent Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Wednesday had indirectly invited him to join separatists.

In a tweet, Mirwaiz while welcoming his resignation over “unabated killings of Kashmiris”, had “hoped” that “his outrage” would “guide his choice of politics” and represent the “desire of right to self-determination”.

The former chief minister and vice president of National Conference Omar Abdullah and several top national Congress leaders were also seen wooing him obliquely on social media to join their respective political party.

Addressing a press conference at a hotel here on Friday, the former IAS officer explicitly said that he would prefer to join a mainstream political party to do electoral politics as he belonged to the “system” and would try to change things from within.

The rumour mill in Kashmir suggested that Faesal might join either Omar Abdullah’s NC or Rahul Gandhi’s Congress and contest next Lok Sabha elections.

However, Faesal said he would try to build a consensus and try to reach out to the youth of the state before taking any decision on joining politics. He said that he was not joining any political party “soon”, saying he will meet with stakeholders and the youngsters before taking the plunge. “I will be happy to fight upcoming assembly and parliamentary elections,” he added.