MHA calls for High-Powered Committee meeting on Ladakh issues in January end

Kargil, Jan 8: In a significant development and to resume the stalled dialogue between the Ladakh leaders and the Centre, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, on Thursday announced that the next meeting of the High-Powered Committee to discuss issues concerning Ladakh will be held in the last part of January.

The exact date would be finalised after consulting the committee members.

As per an official communication from the MHA, addressed to Chief Secretary of Ladakh, the MHA has called for the next meeting of the High-Powered Committee and said that it would be convened in the last part of January 2026.

“It is requested to consult the members of the HPC for their convenient set of dates and inform to this ministry,” it said.

The move is seen as a significant development amid the demand and protests by the Kargil Development Authority (KDA) and Leh Apex Body (LAB) over the delayed dialogue between the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and LAB and KDA, two amalgam bodies of social, political, trade, students, and religious groups from Ladakh.

Official sources said that the High Powered Committee headed by Minister of State (MoS) for Home, Nityanand Rai, would be held in Delhi.

Sources said a 14-member delegation of the LAB and KDA would be the part of the meeting to be chaired the MoS Home Rai.

Seven representatives each from LAB and KDA would be part of the meeting.

Besides 14 members from LAB and KDA, Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Kavinder Gupta, Lok Sabha Member from Ladakh Haji Muhammad Haneefa, Chairperson-cum-CEC of Hill Development Council, Kargil, besides the Chief Secretary Ladakh would also attend the meeting.

Confirming the development, a member of the KDA said that the schedule for meeting would be decided in the coming days.

Pertinently, the four-point agenda of the LAB and KDA includes constitutional safeguards under Sixth Schedule, Statehood for Ladakh, two Lok Sabha seats – one each for Leh and Kargil - and job opportunities for the locals.

They have also demanded constitution of the Public Service Commission (PSC) for Ladakh.

The Ladakh leaders are also demanding release on climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and other youth who were detained after September 24 protests in Leh.

Notably, the first formal round of talks between the leadership of Ladakh and the Centre since September 24 violence in Leh was held in New Delhi on October 23.