Srinagar, Jan. 17 -- The Ladakh leadership will be meeting the representatives of Centre's high-powered committee (HPC) - constituted to "ensure protection of land and employment" for the people of Ladakh - for talks on February 4 in New Delhi, officials informed in a fresh communication on Friday. Earlier, the Union government in a letter to Ladakh chief secretary had informed that the meeting of the HPC will be held in January-end. "It is conveyed that next meeting of the High-powered Committee for the UT of Ladakh under the chairmanship of Nityanand Rai, minister of state for home affairs, Government of India (Gol) will be held on February 4, 2026 at 4 pm in Conference Hall Number 25000H, fifth floor, Kartavya Bhawan-3, MHA, New Delhi," Ruchicka Katyal, deputy secretary to the Gol/Member Secretary (HPC) said in a communication. In 2023, the Union home ministry formed a high-powered committee under minister of state for home Nityanand Rai to discuss ways to protect Ladakh's unique culture and language, considering its location and strategic importance. The panel, which included the members of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA)- a collective of trade unions, tourist bodies, and religious and political groups - deliberated on protections for land and employment, and the empowerment of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils of Leh and Kargil,and other constitutional safeguards. After the first communication about the HPC meeting in last week of January, Sajad Kargili, one of the members of KDA had welcomed the announcement. "While the announcement may have come later than expected, it is nonetheless a welcome step. We hope the forthcoming meeting will substantively address the core aspirations of the people of Ladakh-particularly the demand for statehood, inclusion under the Sixth Schedule, and serious consideration of the draft proposals submitted to the MHA by the #Leh Apex Body and the #Kargil Democratic Alliance," Kargili wrote on X....