JAMMU, July 4 -- The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), the two civil society organisations spearheading Ladakh's agitation for statehood with legislature and constitutional guarantees under the Sixth Schedule, signed off on the minutes of the May 22 sub-committee meeting on Friday, following a three-hour meeting in Leh chaired by Ladakh chief secretary Ashish Kundra, after weeks of disagreement over a clause on officers' performance appraisals. LAB had refused to sign the May 22 minutes after a clause on control over officers' Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APARs) was left out. The dispute is part of a broader negotiation that has been strained since September 24, when a Leh protest turned violent, four people were killed in police firing, and talks were suspended for weeks. A two-member panel comprising additional secretary Prashant Lokhande and Anurag Kumar, special director, IB, in-charge of J&K and Ladakh affairs, held talks from noon for three hours with the two bodies on Friday to finalise the minutes. Ladakh chief secretary Ashish Kundra said on X: "Today's meeting in Leh with political leaders of ABL and KDA along with senior officers of MHA was held in a positive and constructive spirit. It ended on a note of optimism, with a consensus on the broad framework as agreed in the last meeting of 22nd May in New Delhi." Chering Dorjay Lakrook, former minister and co-convenor of LAB, said all attendees - representatives of LAB, KDA, and government officials - signed the May 22 minutes....