The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), the two civil society organizations leading Ladakh’s agitation for statehood through legislative power and constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule, signed the minutes of the May 22 subcommittee meeting on Friday, after a three-hour-long meeting in Leh chaired by Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra, after weeks of disagreement over an item on performance appraisal of officers.
The LAB refused to sign the May 22 minutes after excluding a clause regarding oversight of officers’ annual performance appraisal reports (APARs). This dispute is part of broader negotiations that have been tense since September 24, when Leh protests turned violent, four people were killed by police bullets, and talks stalled for weeks.
A two-member committee comprising Additional Chief Secretary Prashant Lokhande and Anurag Kumar, Special Director of the IB in charge of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh affairs, held talks since noon for three hours with the two bodies on Friday to finalize the minutes.
All those present – representatives of LAB, KDA and government officials – signed the May 22 minutes, said Tshering Dorjay Lakrok, a former minister and co-organiser of the LAB.
“Things seem to be moving in the right direction but we don’t know what will happen next,” Lacroque said, adding that Interior Ministry officials have not yet set a date for the next official meeting.
He said: “Today, we held a marathon meeting and had a detailed discussion on the sticking points, especially regarding the minutes of the last meeting (May 22). In the end, consensus developed, and we finally signed a copy of the minutes of the meeting.”
He told Crook that the meeting was held in a friendly atmosphere and “almost went according to their hopes.”
“On the government’s part, it tried to accommodate most of our feelings and finally we reached a consensus. Regarding safeguards under Article 371, it has paragraphs A to Z, but the government added something else to it and stated that there could be a better option. It is on the record,” he said.
Lacroque said the controversy over APAR is “almost settled,” adding that the LAB and KDA are satisfied with the minutes now signed.
Asked whether Ministry of Home Affairs officials had prepared a draft of the government’s proposal, Lacroque said the ministry had not yet completed it. “However, our draft proposal prepared by LAB is complete and is with us but we need to sit with KDA and seek expert opinion and make necessary corrections. Only then will we submit it to the government,” he said.
“Today’s meeting in Leh with political leaders of ABL and KDA along with senior officials of MHA was held in a positive and constructive spirit. It ended on a note of optimism, with consensus on the broad framework as agreed at the last meeting on May 22 in New Delhi,” Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra said in a post on X.
In the minutes of the fifth meeting of the sub-committee of the high-level committee on Ladakh, held on May 22, the Home Ministry outlined a possible autonomous structure for the region. Ladakh representatives reiterated their demands for statehood, Sixth Schedule status, Ladakh administration and police service, and withdrawal of cases arising out of the September 24, 2025 incident. They also sought bureaucratic accountability to the elected government.
It was agreed that for subjects under the authority of the elected body at UT level, control and supervision over civil servants – including APARs – will be exercised by the elected executive. This was the item that the LAB felt was watered down or deleted in the drafted minutes, which led to the signing being postponed until Friday.
