Ladakh leaders to hold talks with Centre Oct 22

Ladakh representatives have accepted the invitation from the Ministry of Home Affairs for a meeting with its subcommittee in Delhi October 22, Leh Apex Body co-chairman Chering Dorje Lakruk said Sunday.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

This has ended the months-long deadlock over talks with the Centre. Three representatives, each of Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), along with Ladakh MP Mohd Haneefa Jan and their lawyer, will take part in the talks with a focus on their primary demand of statehood and safeguards for the Union Territory under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, Lakruk told reporters here.

On September 29, the LAB announced that it would stay away from talks with the high-powered committee of the MHA, scheduled for October 6, following the killing of four protesters and injuries to many during widespread violence in Leh September 24.