Centre calls Ladakhi leaders for talks on February 4

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has called the next round of meeting with the civil society leaders of Ladakh on February 4, 2026.

The meeting of the high powered committee (HPC), which is led by Minister of State for Home Affairs, is being held after a gap of three months. The last talks were held on October 22, 2025.

In the last meeting, the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), the two key constituents representing Leh and Kargil districts, respectively, who are part of the HPC were asked by the MHA officials to submit a draft framework for constitutional safeguards as being demanded by them

The October 22, 2025 talks were resumed a month after four people, including a Kargil war veteran, were killed in police action against protestors seeking Ladakhi Statehood.

The LAB and KDA are demanding inclusion under the sixth schedule of the constitution, thus giving Ladakh a tribal status and Statehood among others.

The other demand is the release of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been lodged in Jodhpur Central jail since September 26, and others who were arrested after the violence. The groups are also seeking compensation for the families of the deceased and those injured during the incident.