Chief Secretary of Jammu & Kashmir Mohammad Iqbal Khanday resigned from his post three months before reaching the age of superannuation over developing serious differences with the Mufti Muhammad Sayeed-led PDP-BJP coalition Government.
Khanday, the 1978-batch IAS officer, was heading the State bureaucracy since February 2013. Sources said Khanday had developed differences with the Government over various crucial issues, including postings and transfers of officers. The flashpoint came when Mufti convened a Cabinet meeting last week despite Khanday’s absence, who had gone out of town to attend funeral of an infant relative. Another senior bureaucrat BR Sharma, who is tipped to be the next Chief Secretary, attended the Cabinet meeting in place of Khanday.
The Government spokesman did not confirm Khanday’s resignation. Sources said that Khanday would not attend the civil secretariat from September 1.