SRINAGAR: The Ministry of Home Affairs would be holding talks with the leaders of Ladakh Union Territory later this month with Ladakh leaders hopeful that the talks would focus on their core demand of statehood and 6th Schedule protection to safeguard the cold desert region.
Sunil Kumar, Under Secretary to the Government of India, in a communiqué to the Ladakh UT Chief Secretary, has informed that the next meeting of the High Powered Committee (HPC) would be convened in the last part of January 2026.
The High-Powered Committee, chaired by the Minister of State for Home, comprises MHA officials, leaders of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) , the Ladakh MP, and the Chairman of the Kargil Hill Council CEC.
In the communiqué, the MHA has asked the Chief Secretary to consult the members of HPC for their convenient set of dates and inform the ministry.
The last meeting between Ladakh leaders and MHA officials led by Union MoS Home was held in October, and after the meeting, both LAB and KDA, an amalgam of various political, social, trade and religious groups of Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh, sent a joint detailed draft to the MHA listing their demands.
Both LAB and KDA are jointly agitating for four-point demands to safeguard the local identity and fragile environment of the UT. They are demanding statehood (with legislature), 6th Schedule, a separate Public Service Commission and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.
Senior KDA leader Sajjad Kargili said the announcement for talks by MHA may have come later than expected but it is nonetheless a welcome step.
"We hope the forthcoming meeting will substantively address the core aspirations of the people of Ladakh—particularly the demand for statehood, inclusion under the Sixth Schedule, and serious consideration of the draft proposals submitted to the MHA by the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance," he said.
Kargili said that the High-Powered Committee will take up humanitarian concerns, including the continued detention of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and others, as well as the issue of compensation for those dead and injured in the 24 September violence in Leh.
The MHA invitation to Ladakh leaders came a few days after KDA co-chairman Asgar Karbalai accused the MHA of deliberately delaying dialogue despite the submission of a detailed report on their demands.
The KDA co-chairman and LAB co-chairman, Chering Dorjay, had accused the MHA of trying to create a rift and divide between the two forums and the Leh and Kargil districts.
After the abrogation of Article 370 and the downgrading and bifurcation of the erstwhile J&K state into two UTs, people in Leh had celebrated the decision, while those in Kargil district had opposed the move.
However, later parties in Leh joined hands with political, religious and trade leaders of Kargil to jointly agitate for four-point demands to safeguard the local identity and fragile environment of the UT.
