Nepal is facing its deepest political crisis in years after anti-corruption protests turned violent, leaving at least 51 people dead and forcing Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign.
The unrest, led largely by young demonstrators under the “Gen Z” banner, began after a ban on social media and escalated into nationwide chaos. Protesters torched parliament, government buildings, and a Hilton Hotel on Tuesday, while thousands of prisoners escaped during the turmoil.
The army reclaimed the streets of Kathmandu on Wednesday, imposing a curfew and recovering more than 100 stolen firearms. For many residents, the violence brought back memories of the Maoist civil war and the abolition of the monarchy in 2008.
President Ramchandra Paudel and army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel are now holding talks with political figures and protest leaders to find an interim leader. Among those considered is Sushila Karki, 73, Nepal’s first female chief justice.
But divisions remain. While Karki insists “the parliament still stands,” youth activist Sudan Gurung said their “first demand is the dissolution of parliament.”
Ordinary citizens, who had been trapped indoors during the violence, cautiously returned to markets and petrol stations as curfew hours eased. “It was a really tense time and we just stayed indoors. We came out as things have improved,” said Laxmi Thapa, a resident of Kathmandu.
With more than two-fifths of the country’s 30 million people aged between 16 and 40, and youth unemployment at 20 percent, protesters say their movement is about more than corruption—it is about building a new Nepal.
“We started this movement so we could make a better Nepal,” said James Karki, 24. “And I am positive that the army will listen.”
