Jammu and Kashmir L-G's adviser Farooq Khan quits, may get key role in BJP

Farooq Khan's entry into BJP is seen as a move to woo Muslim voters in Poonch and Rajouri

Farooq Khan, an adviser to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, submitted his resignation on Sunday and was set to be given an "important assignment" in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the first Assembly elections in the Union Territory, officials said in Jammu.

A retired IPS officer who was instrumental in breaking the backbone of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir in the early 1990s, Mr. Khan had earlier served as a national secretary of the BJP and held various posts in the party's minority cell.

The 67-year-old is likely to be assigned the responsibility of preparing the party for the first Assembly elections in the Union Territory.

Though the poll schedule has not been announced yet, officials expect the elections will be held after October following completion of the ongoing delimitation exercise by May.

The erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into union territories and its special status under Article 370 was removed in August 2019.

In July 2019, Mr. Khan was appointed adviser to the then Lieutenant Governor Satya Pal Malik.

Prior to that he was the administrator of Lakshadweep.