Fresh talks between MHA, Ladakh groups remain ‘inconclusive’; next round in Delhi on October 22

Ladakh’s civil society groups and local leaders on Thursday (October 15, 2026) termed the fresh round of talks with a team of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in Leh as “unsatisfactory and inconclusive”, as the stakeholders shared fresh drafts with each other to pave the way for the next round of talks on October 22 in New Delhi.

The meeting was attended by the members of Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), amalgams of socio-religious groups in the region. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, BJP leader Tashi Gyalson and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) Mohammad Jaffer Akhoon also attended the meeting. The MHA made a 15-page presentation with details on the way forward. However, the members of key groups, the LAB and KDA, raised questions and submitted their own draft.

Hope Centre keeps promise: LAB

“We also shared our draft with the MHA, which gave a presentation on its draft. There were gaps between the two drafts and did lack consensus. We expect a fresh response of the MHA to our draft to reach a consensus. We will also study and prepare our response to the MHA draft,” said Chering Dorjay Lakrook, co-chairman of the Leh Apex Body (LAB), which is an amalgam of religious and social organisations.

Mr. Lakrook said the main demands of having a legislature for Ladakh and special provisions under Article 371K “will see no dilution”. “We stand by the understanding reached in the previous meetings. We hope the Centre keeps its promise,” he said.

Another round of talks will be held on October 22 in New Delhi, according to the leaders of the amalgams. “We will not say the meeting was a failure but [rather] a continuation. The MHA draft was not satisfactory. We expect a revised draft to be shared by the MHA with Ladakhi groups by October 18, given the huge differences between the two. We hope the MHA will narrow down the differences before the October 22 talks. Otherwise, we were perplexed to see the MHA draft,” said Mr. Wangchuk.

Unsatisfactory proposal: KDA

Asgar Ali Karbalai, co-chairman of the KDA, also termed the MHA draft as “unsatisfactory”. “It does not match the demands of Ladakhis. We will continue to seek democratic and constitutional rights and guarantees,” said Mr. Karbalai.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Tashi Gyalson said the meeting has pushed for “conclusion of a resolution after so many years of deliberations”. “The MHA’s 15-page draft and the suggestive points of the KDA and LAB were discussed in the meeting. The next round of talks will be in New Delhi,” said Mr. Gyalson.

The talks between Ladakh and the Centre have witnessed many ups and downs in the past six years. Ladakh was carved out as a separate Union Territory in 2019 from the Kashmir division, as J&K’s special status was scrapped. In the face of protests from Ladakhi civil society groups since 2019 over demands of Statehood and Sixth Schedule, a major breakthrough was achieved in July this year when the Centre suggested it was considering a customised sui generis model, most suitable for Ladakh, under the provisions of Article 371 and a legislature for the region.