Jammu, Feb 13 (IANS): The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) has questioned the Central's government's intention behind granting divisional status to Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh region.

Speaking to the media here on Wednesday, JKNPP chairman Harsh Dev Singh said, "The time and intention behind granting Ladakh the status of a division is intriguing. Who demanded the creation of a division there and who are its beneficiaries?

"We question the urgency behind creation of the division for Ladakh during the President's rule. Men at the helm of affairs are answerable to the people of the state over the timing and intention behind such a major decision taken in such extreme haste.

"The people of Leh have been demanding a union territory status and the BJP central leadership had assured to fulfil their demand.

"But having failed to fulfil the genuine aspirations of the people of Ladakh, the central government has played the game of dividing people on religious and ethnic lines which can prove dangerous to a sensitive state like J&K."

Singh said the government's decision has already led to unrest in Kargil district of Ladakh and has given voice to similar demands in the Chenab Valley and Pir Panchal areas of the state.