Kargil leaders upset over division HQs in Leh district, threaten stir

Amit Khajuria
Tribune News Service
Jammu, February 9

Leaders of Kargil on Saturday threatened mass resignation and agitation if the Governor’s administration did not rectify the order on stationing the headquarters of the new division for Ladakh in Leh. They demanded a rotational headquarters on the pattern of the Durbar move.

Chief Executive Councillor (CEC), Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil, Feroz Ahmad Khan on Saturday chaired a meeting of all political parties of Kargil at Boys Hostel, Channi Rama, Jammu. All political leaders threatened to resign if the Governor did not rectify the order.

The meeting was attended by Chairman, Legislative Council, Haji Anayat Ali, Executive Councillor Zakir Hussain, former minister Qamar Ali Akhoon, former MLA and CEC Haji Asgar Ali Karbalia, former MLA Haji Nissar Ali, former CEC Kacho Ahmad Ali Khan, former MP Ghulam Hassan Khan, National Conference president for Kargil and former CEC Haji Hanifa Jan and other councillors.

During a joint press conference after the meeting, the leaders said the divisional status was the long-pending demand of the people of Kargil and not of Leh. They said by passing the order, the government had ignored a major chunk of the population in Ladakh, which had been demanding divisional status. They alleged that the order was discriminatory.

The leaders condemned the decision and requested Governor Satya Pal Malik to review it. They urged Malik for rotational headquarters — six months of summer in Kargil and six months of winter in Leh. They said if their request was not heeded, all democratically elected representatives, be it panches, councillors, CEC or the Legislative Council Chairman would offer mass resignation. Soon after the official announcement of the divisional status for Ladakh on Friday, whose headquarters will be stationed at Leh, as per the order, people of Kargil started showing their resentment and raised their objections on the social media.

'Order discriminatory' 

• During a meeting, all democratically elected representatives of Kargil threatened to resign if the Governor did not rectify the order of making Leh the divisional headquarters
• The political leaders of Kargil alleged that the order was discriminatory
• The leaders said the divisional status was the long-pending demand of the people of Kargil and not of Leh