KATHMANDU, Nepal: Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel said on Thursday he was seeking an end to the crisis that has engulfed the Himalayan nation since deadly protests this week ousted the prime minister and left parliament in flames.
“I am consulting and making every effort to find a way out of the current difficult situation in the country within the constitutional framework,” President Ramchandra Paudel said in a statement.
“I appeal to all parties to be confident that a solution to the problem is being sought as soon as possible to address the demands of the protesting citizens.”
KP Sharma Oli, 73, a four-time prime minister, resigned Tuesday in the face of protests. His whereabouts are unknown.
Constitutionally, 80-year-old Paudel should invite the leader of the largest parliamentary party to form a government.
Army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel held talks with key figures and “representatives of Gen Z” on Wednesday, a military spokesperson said, referring to the loose umbrella title of the protest movement.
The army has imposed a curfew in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people, after the worst violence in two decades.
Paudel urged Nepalis to “practice restraint and cooperate to maintain peace and order in the country”.
What’s happening in Nepal?
On Sunday, Nepal’s then-Prime Minister Oli mocked youth protesters, who were planning a major agitation the following day in the capital, Kathmandu, against corruption and nepotism.
By calling themselves the “Gen Z”, the protesters seemed to believe they could demand whatever they wanted, Oli said.
Less than 48 hours later, Oli was an ex-PM, and the Gen Z protest movement he had spoken dismissively of was discussing who should lead Nepal.
That was after police firing on protesters on Monday killed at least 19 people, further inflaming passions.
On Tuesday, protesters set fire to the parliament building and homes of several prominent politicians, as members of Oli’s cabinet quit and pressure mounted on the PM himself – ultimately leading to his resignation.
The combined death toll from clashes on Monday and Tuesday has now reached 31.
Those dramatic events have turned the Himalayan nation into the latest cauldron of political change, after similar youth-led movements in Sri Lanka in 2022 and Bangladesh in 2024.
On September 8, tens of thousands of young people came out to protest corruption and nepotism. A government ban on social media platforms only aggravated their anger.
After some protesters broke through barricades and entered the parliament complex, security forces fired live bullets, tear gas shells, and water cannons at them. At least 19 people died, angering youth across the country.
New protests – far more violent – erupted on Tuesday. Politicians’ homes and offices of political parties were broken into and set on fire. The building that housed Kantipur Publications, Nepal’s biggest media house, was also torched.
By afternoon, Oli had announced his resignation, but the protesters, who have described their agitation as a “Gen Z movement”, are now demanding the dissolution of parliament, new elections, an interim government they help choose until then, and the prosecution of those who ordered the firing on September 8.
The army has taken over the streets, and a curfew is in place in Kathmandu.
