Topper of the UPSC 2009-examination, Shah Faseal has rejoined the service after a gap of over three years. Faesal is back on the rolls of the Union Territory government after the Government of India reinstated him to Indian Administrative Services a couple of weeks ago.

He has joined the General Administration Department in Jammu and Kashmir and is currently awaiting posting.

Former IAS officer Shah Faesal had quit the government service in 2019 citing rising "intolerance" in the country and to float a political party.

Although Shah Faseal has switched off his mobile phone to avoid any queries from media persons, he dropped hints of rejoining the government service through some posts on his Twitter handle.

Shah Faesal
Kashmiri politician Shah Faesal was sent back to Srinagar on another flight and placed under preventive detention.IANS

In a series of tweets, he wrote about his idealism letting him down in 2019 when he resigned from the government service to join politics.

"8 months of my life (Jan 2019-Aug 2019) created so much baggage that I was almost finished. While chasing a chimera, I lost almost everything that I had built over the years. Job. Friends. Reputation. Public goodwill. But I never lost hope. My idealism had let me down," he tweeted.

Shah Faesal
J&K Govt

"But I had faith in myself. That I would undo the mistakes I had made. That life would give me another chance. A part of me is exhausted with the memory of those 8 months and wants to erase that legacy. Much of it is already gone. Time will mop off the rest in believe," he added in another tweet.

"Just thought of sharing that life is beautiful. It is always worth giving ourselves another chance. Setbacks make us stronger. And there is an amazing world beyond the shadows of the past.
I turn 39 next month. And I'm really excited to start all over again", he further tweeted.

Floated political party in 2019

Faesal, who had topped the UPSC examination in 2009, resigned from the service in January 2019.

He floated his own political party-the Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement in March 2019 and announced to contest the assembly elections. His party was one of the constituents of the Peoples' Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD).

Detained at Delhi airport, placed under house arrest in Kashmir

After the abrogation of articles 370 and 35-A on August 5, 2019, Shah Faesal was detained at the Delhi airport on August 14, 2019, and sent back to Kashmir. He was placed under house arrest. After he was taken into custody in Delhi, Shah Faesal was shifted to Srinagar where he was again detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA). Faesal was bound for Istanbul.

After the Centre abrogated the provisions of Article 370 for Jammu and Kashmir, the former IAS officer slammed the government saying the Valley was experiencing an unprecedented lockdown and its eight million population was "incarcerated" like never before.

Released after 10 months, PSA revoked

On June 4, 2020, Shah Faesal was released after the Jammu & Kashmir administration revoked his detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

After his release, Faesal gave up on politics and started dropping hints of making a coming back to the government service.

He has been an ardent supporter, on social media, of the present BJP Government's policies. He has been often sharing speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on his Twitter handle.