Former JK CS Iqbal Khanday passes away

Srinagar, Nov 19: Former chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir Mohammad Iqbal Khanday died in Srinagar on Monday after battling cancer. He was 63.

Khanday, a 1978-batch IAS officer, took premature retirement from service just few months before his superannuation in 2015. He is survived by wife, judge Kaneez Fatima, and daughter Sehar Iqbal.

Khanday died at SKIMS Hospital at Soura, where he was undergoing treatment for cancer, which had relapsed after his retirement from service.

Khanday was buried at a graveyard near his Humhama residence, relatives said. Known as an able administrator, Khanday was dogged by several controversies during his years of service – the last one being his premature retirement due to differences with the PDP-BJP government over transfer of few subordinate officers.

Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti condoled Khanday’s death. “Sorry to hear about the demise of Iqbal Khanday Sb. He was Chief Secretary in J&K & worked with me when I had the privilege of heading the government. My heartfelt condolences to his family & loved ones (sic),” Omar wrote on Twitter.

Mehbooba, in a statement, said Khanday was a “simple person easy to get along with and totally dedicated to his job”. She appreciated the significant contributions made by the officer in various state departments.

A condolence meeting was convened in the Civil Secretariat in Jammu. Advisor to Governor K Vijay Kumar, Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam, administrative secretaries and other senior officers attended the meet.

Kumar remembered Khanday for his administrative acumen and dynamism. “Our heart goes out to the family of Iqbal Khandey sahab, who in the later part of his life went through a personal tragedy of losing his son in a road accident,” he said.