Leh: Leaders of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) on Friday said they had resolved differences over the minutes of an earlier meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs, calling it a positive step towards formal negotiations on a proposed democratic framework for the Union Territory of Ladakh.
The breakthrough came less than a fortnight after Ladakh’s civil society groups held a shutdown on June 23 over the alleged omission of key understandings from the May 22 Minutes of Meeting (MoM) and unilateral decisions by the Lt Governor-led administration on issues such as land, liquor, power, transport and tourism.
The LAB and KDA, which are jointly spearheading an agitation seeking statehood for Ladakh and the extension of constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule to the region, have held several rounds of talks with the Centre since 2021.
The differences over the MoM were resolved at an informal meeting in Leh on Friday attended by MHA officials, representatives of the LAB and KDA including Ladakh MP Mohammad Haneefa Jan and senior UT administration officials, with all sides signing the revised minutes after reaching a consensus.
“There was an extensive discussion on the sticking points we had, particularly regarding the Minutes of the Meeting. After detailed deliberations, a consensus was finally reached on those issues. In the end, all of us signed the copy of the Minutes,” LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjay Lakrook told reporters.
Describing the meeting as constructive, he said the government had made a genuine effort to accommodate Ladakhi sentiments.
Dorjay said discussions on constitutional safeguards also moved forward. According to him, the MHA indicated that instead of simply replicating existing provisions under Articles 371A to 371J, Ladakh could receive a framework offering even stronger protection.
“As for Article 371, the discussion took place broadly along the same lines as before. One additional point they mentioned was that they believe there could be an option even better than the existing provisions under Articles 371A to 371J. That has also been recorded in the Minutes,” he said.
He said concerns relating to the Annual Performance Reports (APRs) of officials had largely been resolved.
The LAB co-chairman said they had urged the Centre to expedite the next round of formal negotiations.
“We urged the government to hold the official talks at the earliest so that we can reach a conclusion as soon as possible,” he said.
On the proposed draft for Ladakh’s future governance structure, Dorjay said the MHA’s draft was still under preparation, while the Apex Body had already completed its own proposal.
“The MHA has informed us that its draft is not yet complete and is still under preparation. The draft prepared by the Apex Body is complete and is with us. However, I received it only a short while ago, so I have not yet had the opportunity to study it. We will discuss it with the KDA before they leave for Kargil,” he said.
Dorjay said the MHA officials had conveyed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah wanted the long-pending Ladakh dialogue to reach an early conclusion.
“The government is very positive; the Home Minister wants this matter—which has become quite protracted—to be brought to a logical conclusion as quickly as possible,” he said.
KDA co-chairman Asgar Ali Karbalai also described the discussions as a significant step forward, saying the MHA appeared to be treating Ladakh’s demands with seriousness.
“What we genuinely witnessed today was that the Ministry of Home Affairs appeared to be taking the issues of Ladakh seriously and showing real concern,” he said, adding the meeting addressed key concerns relating to constitutional safeguards, the proposed elected executive, administrative control and recruitment.
He said the parties discussed the broad contours of the institutional framework proposed for Ladakh, including an elected Union Territory-level body with legislative, executive and financial powers.
“We hope that Ladakh will ultimately have its own executive, legislative and financial framework, with institutions empowered to frame rules, enact laws for Ladakh, and implement all funds allocated to the region through its own executive body,” he said.
Karbalai said the delegations also impressed upon the Centre that no major decision affecting Ladakh should be taken without consulting local stakeholders.
“In the meantime, we made it clear that no decision or policy should be implemented in Ladakh without first taking the public stakeholders into confidence,” he said.
He said the delegations also raised the issue of more than 80 people arrested following the events of September 24 last year and assured that it would seriously examine withdrawal of the criminal cases and legal provisions invoked against them.
Karbalai also said the Centre had assured the meeting that proposals for a separate Ladakh Administrative Service (LAS) and Ladakh Police Service (LPS) would be pursued.
He said the delegation would meet climate activist and Leh Apex Body member Sonam Wangchuk, who is on an indefinite hunger strike in Delhi, and credited his protest with pushing the Centre to engage with Ladakh’s representatives.
“The fact that Wangchuk is sitting on a fast… has had a significant impact on the MHA. That is precisely why they came to Leh to hold talks with us,” he said.
On recruitment, Karbalai said concerns were raised over contractual appointments in universities and the implementation of reservation policy.
He said the administration assured the meeting that the agreed reservation policy would be implemented and that contractual recruitment of outsiders would not continue.
Ladakh MP Mohammad Haneefa Jan said the meeting was highly fruitful.
“The points to which the KDA and the Apex Body had objected were rectified and incorporated in line with the views of all the stakeholders. The minutes were then signed in the form that we had wanted”.
He said the next priority would be finalising the draft that would shape Ladakh’s future governance structure.
“We hope there will be no further delay in preparing the draft. We expect that a good draft will be finalised soon—one that addresses the issues and hardships the people of Ladakh have been struggling with over the past five to six years. We hope this marks the beginning of a new Ladakh,” he said.
