Centre–Ladakh high-powered committee talks remain inconclusive

A meeting of the High-Powered Committee (HPC) between the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and leaders from Ladakh, held in New Delhi, remained “inconclusive,” Ladakh leaders said on Wednesday.

Members of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) participated in the meeting, which was chaired by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai and attended by senior officials of the Home Ministry.

After the meeting, Ladakh leaders said the talks ended without any conclusion, and another round of discussions is expected in the coming weeks.

Wednesday’s meeting marked the first high-level engagement between the two sides since last year’s violence in Leh, in which four people were killed and around 90 others injured during protests.

The core demands raised during the meeting included statehood for Ladakh and the inclusion of the Union Territory under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. These demands were formally submitted to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Sources said the government proposed protections under Article 371. “Everything was discussed, but there was no conclusion,” said a source privy to the meeting.

Leaders said discussions were also held on the possibility of a legislative assembly for Ladakh without statehood. “The government has asked for a financial viability draft regarding a legislative assembly, which has to be submitted within a month,” a source said.

After Wednesday’s meeting, Ladakh leaders reiterated that discussions took place on several issues but no outcome was reached and talks would continue.

“We discussed our demands for statehood and the Sixth Schedule. Discussions happened, but there was no conclusion in the meeting. We cannot say the talks were either successful or failed. Today’s talks remained inconclusive,” Leh Apex Body co-chairman Cherring Dorjay Lakruk said.

Lakruk added that the Leh Apex Body and the KDA would now meet to deliberate on the future course of action.

During the meeting, leaders also strongly demanded the release of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is currently lodged in a Rajasthan jail after being detained under the National Security Act. They also sought the withdrawal of cases against youths booked by the UT Ladakh administration in connection with last year’s violence.

KDA leader Asgar Ali Karbalai said they had hoped for a concrete outcome from the meeting. “Discussions and deliberations took place for two hours, but we could not reach any conclusion,” he said.