Changing Maps Will Not Affect Kashmir’s Relationship With Ladakh: Omar Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that administrative reorganisation will not impact the relationship between J&K and Ladakh having deep roots.

JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday asserted that administrative reorganisation would not alter the deep-rooted relationship of Jammu and Kashmir with Ladakh.

“Maps may change, but changing maps will not affect our relationship with you. Our bond with Ladakh is centuries old, and it will remain strong,” the chief minister said while talking to a delegation from the Kargil area of Ladakh.

A delegation from the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil led by its Chairman and Chief Executive Councillor Muhammad Jaffer Akhoon and other members including Feroz Ahmad Khan, Member of Parliament (Ladakh) Haji Mohd Haneefa Jan and former minister Qamar Ali Akhoon. During the meeting with the CM, Deputy CM, ministers, and other officers of Jammu and Kashmir, the delegation decided to discuss and resolve various concerns of students, patients, and residents of Ladakh.

LAHDC Kargil calls on J&K CM Omar Abdullah and other officials (Photo Courtesy: J&K Govt)

Addressing the delegation, Omar Abdullah urged them to take up the matter with the Ladakh administration to ensure the posting of senior officers in Jammu and Srinagar. This, according to Omar Abdullah, will enable them to address the challenges faced by Ladakh residents in J&K more effectively.

He also assured that space would be provided at SKIMS and other super-specialty hospitals in Kashmir for the establishment of a help desk. The desk will be managed by Ladakh administration staff and will facilitate immediate assistance to the patients from Kargil and Leh. While pointing out that several seats were unused, Omar Abdullah urged the delegation to create awareness among Ladakh students about the quota available in Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier, while sharing their concerns with Omar Abdullah, the delegation highlighted several pressing issues, including the appointment of nodal officers for patients referred to SKIMS Soura and other super-specialty hospitals in Srinagar.

LAHDC Kargil calls on J&K CM Omar Abdullah and other officials (Photo Courtesy: J&K Govt)

They also shared their apprehensions about the selection and training of paramedical students in J&K’s institutes, the extension of existing student hostels in Srinagar and Jammu, and the need for more admissions of Ladakh students in various colleges and universities of J&K. Additionally, they also sought tourism promotion for Kargil and other areas of Ladakh UT through events organised in Srinagar.

The development comes around six months after National Conference’s entire Kargil unit resigned from the party, upset over being allegedly pressured to extend support to Congress candidate Tsering Namgyal for the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat as part of INDIA bloc’s seat-sharing agreement.

On May 6, last year, the party’s ex-Additional General Secretary Ladakh and former Jammu and Kashmir minister Qamar Ali Akhoon had written to Party president Dr Farooq Abdullah to convey the unit’s decision. He later alleged that the party high command “was pressuring to extend support to Namgyal and that was against the decision taken by Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA)”.

Following this, the KDA’s Sajjad Kargili and Feroz Ahmad Khan withdrew their nomination for the Ladakh seat to extend their support to Haji Haneefa Jan as joint candidate from Kargil. Jan, who was the party's Kargil district president, had also resigned from the party and eventually won the seat.