A Civil Servant of Rare Grace Is Gone

From SOS-style appeals to saving a historic mosque, the former Kashmiri bureaucrat’s life was built on listening first, acting silently, and never looking for credit.

- Ansar Hussain Dar

Ghulam Ahmad Peer’s last social media post was a condolence. Like many before it, it carried his familiar tone, measured and mindful.

For years, he used his modest online presence to amplify voices in pain: appeals for healthcare, community welfare requests, and obituary posts.

His words were brief, often unsigned, but they stayed with those who read them.

Then, he went silent.

That silence turned eternal on the afternoon of August 3, 2025.

G.A. Peer, 73, a retired Indian Administrative Service officer and former Commissioner Secretary to the Jammu and Kashmir government, died following complications from motor neuron disease.

The tributes that poured in were unusually personal for a civil servant. He was not just remembered for his titles but for how he carried them.

In his native village of Seer Hamdan in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, neighbours called him a noble man. They said he belonged to a time when dignity was the norm in public office, not an exception.

Across the political spectrum, leaders and colleagues described him as a model administrator. “A committed and principled officer,” said Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo. “His legacy will continue to inspire generations of civil servants.”