KDA backs LAB stand over talks with Centre, seeks immediate release of Wangchuk

The KDA, a key body representing leaders from Kargil, joined its counterpart in Leh -- Leh Apex Body (LAB), in escalating the standoff with the Centre over the demand for statehood to the Union Territory of Ladakh.

The KDA's announcement follows LAB's move on Monday to suspend the dialogue process.

Talking to reporters here, KDA co-chairman Asgar Ali Karbalai said the alliance is "constantly in touch" with LAB.

"We will not participate in the talks with the Centre till Sonam Wangchuk is released, arrests are stopped, those arrested are released, and a judicial probe is ordered," Karbalai said.

Strongly condemning the firing by security forces during a shutdown in Leh on September 24 that claimed four lives, the KDA leader demanded the immediate release of Wangchuk, calling him a "hero of the country".

"If the government of India thinks they can silence Ladakhis by scaring them, they are wrong, we will not sit quietly," he said. "If you want to kill my brother and talk to me, it is not possible."

A major point of contention raised by the leaders was the alleged portrayal of Ladakhis as "anti-nationals" by government sympathisers. "We want to tell the government of India that we don't need a certificate from anyone. We have sacrificed our lives for the country. Stop portraying Ladakhis as anti-national," Karbalai asserted.

Ladakh MP Mohmad Haneefa echoed this sentiment, stating locals are deeply upset by the "denunciatory term" being used against them.

"A narrative is being spread that, despite the sacrifices that people of Ladakh have made...they are trying to portray us as anti-national," Haneefa said.

He stressed that their demands are well within the constitutional framework, driven by a fight for cultural identity and ecological safety following the abrogation of Article 370.

Leaders also levelled serious allegations that the firing at protesters was targeted. Haneefa claimed the father of one of the deceased, an ex-soldier, stated his son was first beaten with a baton before being shot.

Karbalai cited the case of a youth on a bike, wearing a helmet, who was allegedly "shot in the head", saying there is "no accountability in Ladakh".

Chairman and Chief Executive Councillor of the Kargil Hill Council, Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon, urged the government not to dismiss their demands lightly and requested the Union Home Ministry to take action against the person who ordered the firing.

On Monday, LAB chairman Thupstan Chhewang and its co-chairman Chering Dorjay had insisted that the restoration of a "conducive atmosphere" in Ladakh was a prerequisite for resuming negotiations.

After the September 24 violent clashes between protesters and security personnel in Leh, over 50 people were taken into custody which included Wangchuk, the primary face of the agitation. The activist was detained under the stringent National Security Act, and he is at present lodged in a jail in Rajasthan's Jodhpur.