Nepal in turmoil: Prime Minister resigns, former PM's wife killed, amid violent protests

Dubai: Nepal was engulfed in turmoil this week as Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli stepped down following two days of the most violent protests the Himalayan nation has witnessed in decades. 

The unrest, ignited by a controversial ban on social media, has escalated into a sweeping anti-corruption movement led largely by young Nepalis demanding a new political order.

The scale of the upheaval is staggering. At least 22 people have been killed since Monday, according to officials and local media, and hundreds injured in clashes between demonstrators and police around parliament in the capital, Kathmandu. 

Protesters set fire to government buildings, stormed parliament, vandalized political leaders’ homes, and torched the headquarters of major parties. In western districts, 900 inmates escaped from prisons amid the chaos.

“It feels like our country is burning and being reborn at the same time,” said 20-year-old student Muna Shreshta, standing outside parliament as thick black smoke poured from the building’s shattered windows, according to BBC. “We came here to demand change because corruption has destroyed our future. Now the whole world will hear us.”

The spark was a government decision last week to block 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube, accusing them of failing to register with Nepal’s communications ministry. Officials said the ban was aimed at curbing fake news and online fraud.

But for Nepal’s tech-savvy Generation Z, the move was seen as an assault on free expression and an attempt to silence a burgeoning anti-corruption campaign spreading online. 

Hashtags like #NepoKids and #EnoughIsEnough had gone viral, lampooning the lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children and exposing alleged misuse of state funds.

Within hours of the ban, thousands of students and young professionals poured into the streets. 

Videos showed schoolchildren in uniform marching with textbooks in hand, chanting slogans against “corrupt politicians.” Protesters carried placards declaring “Gen Z Won’t Be Silent” and “We Want Our Country Back.”

Though the ban was hastily lifted Monday night after an emergency cabinet meeting, the momentum proved unstoppable. By then, anger over years of corruption, nepotism, and economic stagnation had boiled over.

On Monday, security forces unleashed tear gas, water cannons and live rounds to push back waves of demonstrators trying to storm parliament. Nineteen protesters were killed that day. 

Hospitals in Kathmandu overflowed with casualties, many bearing gunshot wounds or injuries from rubber bullets. Doctors described treating dozens of students.

By Tuesday, scenes resembled an urban insurrection. Crowds stormed parliament again, this time setting it ablaze. Flames leapt into the night sky, silhouetting jubilant demonstrators waving Nepal’s crimson flag. Graffiti condemning corruption was scrawled across government walls.

The violence spread beyond the capital. In Pokhara, protesters attacked police posts. In Biratnagar, crowds ransacked local government offices. Across western Nepal, mobs stormed prisons, freeing hundreds of inmates.

The homes of senior politicians became targets. Mr. Oli’s own residence was set on fire. Sher Bahadur Deuba, leader of the Nepali Congress and a coalition partner, saw his house attacked. Former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as Prachanda, also fled his residence after protesters gathered outside.

Rabi Laxmi Chitrakar, wife of former prime minister Jhalanath Khanal, also died from burns after demonstrators allegedly forced her inside their home before igniting it. She succumbed to her injuries in a Kathmandu hospital.

Mr. Oli, 73, a communist leader who has dominated Nepalese politics for decades, announced his resignation late Tuesday in a letter to President Ramchandra Paudel. 

He said he was stepping down “to facilitate a solution to the problem and to help resolve it politically in accordance with the constitution.”

Military officials confirmed that Mr. Oli had requested army protection as protesters targeted his residence. 

General Ashok Raj Sigdel, the army chief, reportedly told him the military could only stabilize the situation if he relinquished power.

President Paudel accepted the resignation and began consultations on forming a new government. 

But with ministers in hiding, coalition partners under siege, and parliament literally in flames, the path forward remains uncertain.

Videos circulating online show university students in Kathmandu marching in white shirts, while others display TikToks contrasting the luxury lifestyles of political families with the daily struggles of ordinary citizens. “Nepo Kids” has become a rallying cry, shorthand for an entire system of nepotism and privilege.

The Nepal Army, long a decisive force in the country’s politics, has warned it may intervene. In a statement Tuesday night, Gen. Sigdel said “all security institutions, including the Nepal Army, are committed to taking control of the situation” if unrest continues. 

Troops have already been deployed around government buildings, though it is unclear if they will be ordered to confront protesters directly.

Nepal has a fraught history with military involvement in politics, from the monarchy’s suppression of uprisings to the Maoist insurgency that claimed more than 13,000 lives before a peace deal in 2006 ushered in a republic. 

With Oli gone, the question of succession looms. President Paudel is consulting parties, but many of their leaders are in hiding or facing protesters’ wrath. Some ministers have reportedly taken refuge in army barracks.

Corruption has long plagued Nepal’s politics. Successive governments have been accused of misusing funds, awarding contracts to cronies, and enriching themselves while ordinary citizens face high unemployment and limited services.

The unrest has unsettled Nepal’s neighbors, India and China, both of which have deep strategic stakes in the landlocked country. Indian officials expressed concern about instability spilling across the border, while Beijing urged “restraint and dialogue.” Western embassies issued travel advisories, warning of unpredictable violence.

For now, Nepal is a country without a prime minister, without a functioning parliament, and without clear leadership. What it has, in abundance, is a generation of young people who have declared they will no longer accept the corruption of the past.