Wangchuk set to join Ladakh talks today | India News

Srinagar: Climate activist and Leh Apex Body (LAB) member Sonam Wangchuk will attend talks with the Center in Ladakh on Friday, doing so as part of a delegation for the first time since such talks began in 2023 on the Union Territory’s (UT) political future.LAB, an umbrella group of political and religious organizations in the region, will be represented by Wangchuk, Chering Dorje Lakruk and Dorje Stanzin. Lakruk is co-chairman of LAB and president of Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), while Stanzin is president of Ladakh Gonpa Association.Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), another regional party, will attend the meeting represented by Asghar Ali Karbalai and Sajjad Kargili, both co-chairman and member Ghulam Rasool. All members of the delegation reached New Delhi on Thursday. The Center had announced discussions with the Union Home Ministry’s (MHA) sub-committee on April 26.Asked about the meeting, Lacroque said only, “He’s hoping for the ‘best.'” Cargill is hoping for “some results now.” “We’ve been in talks for the last couple of years. We don’t want to talk for the sake of talking,” Cargile said.Since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of J&K into the Union Territory of J&K and Ladakh, Ladakh has seen movements demanding Sixth Schedule status and statehood. These were run by LAB and KDA, formed in Leh and Kargil a year after the repeal of 370.Wangchuk initially supported these demands independently through Gandhi-style hunger strikes and long marches when he joined LAB last year.The MHA had constituted a high-powered committee on January 2, 2023 under the leadership of junior minister Nityanand Rai to address key issues in Ladakh. Since then there have been several rounds of discussions under high-powered committees and occasionally at sub-committee level.The dialogue process stalled on September 24, 2025 after four people were killed and over 80 injured in alleged police firing on protesters in Leh demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule protection. Wangchuk was charged with inciting the protesters through speeches. He was arrested, charged under the National Security Act (NSA) and lodged in Jodhpur Jail.The Center lifted Wangchuk’s NSA detention in March this year and affirmed its commitment to “constructive engagement and dialogue” to resolve issues in the region. After his release, Wangchuk pressed for such talks, saying Ladakh was “hanging between trust and distrust”.Talks resumed in Delhi on October 22 last year after the Center ordered a judicial inquiry into the alleged firing. Another round of talks took place on 4 February but remained “inconclusive”.