KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepalese authorities lifted the curfew in the country’s capital and surrounding areas on Saturday as calm returned following the appointment of the Himalayan nation’s first woman prime minister in the wake of protests this week that killed at least 51 people and collapsed the government.
In the capital, Kathmandu, and neighboring Lalitpur and Bhaktapur areas, officials told people they could move around freely while markets reopened and traffic returned on the streets.
The massive demonstrations began on Monday over a social media ban and quickly turned violent, with protesters attacking government buildings and police opening fire.
On her first day at the job, Karki visited injured protesters at the Civil Hospital in Kathmandu, pledging to work for the best of the country.
Many of the dead were protesters killed by police fire and some were inmates trying to break out of prisons across the country.
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Following protests this week that resulted in the deaths of at least 51 people and the overthrow of the government, Nepalese authorities lifted the curfew in the capital and surrounding areas on Saturday as peace returned. This was after the appointment of the first female prime minister for the Himalayan nation.
As markets reopened and traffic resumed on the streets, officials in Kathmandu, the capital, and the nearby districts of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur assured residents that they could move around freely.
Large-scale protests over a social media ban started on Monday and swiftly descended into violence, with demonstrators attacking government buildings and police shooting.
Unrest arose over more general grievances even after the ban was lifted. Businesses, the presidential residence, and the parliament were all attacked and set on fire by tens of thousands of demonstrators.
President Ram Chandra Poudel dissolved parliament and scheduled elections for March 5 in addition to appointing former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki as interim prime minister on Friday. In 2022, Nepal held its most recent legislative elections.
Later Friday, Karki, 73, was sworn in. As the sole female chief justice of the court in 2016 and 2017, she was well-liked and well-known for her opposition to governmental corruption.
Karki promised to work for the best of the nation when she visited wounded protesters at the Civil Hospital in Kathmandu on her first day of work.
“I will do everything in my power,” she said to a wounded protester who was recuperating from gunshot wounds. Reporters were not given any access to her outside the hospital.
Khadga Prasad Oli, who resigned on Tuesday and left his official residence, is replaced by Karki. Negotiations between the protesters, the army, and the president regarding an interim government started that evening after the army took over the streets.
Many of the dead were protesters shot dead by police, and some were prisoners attempting to escape from prisons around the nation. According to authorities, three police officers were also among the deceased.
The curfew, which had been in effect since late Tuesday, gave locals a few hours each day to go shopping for supplies and food.
The temporary ban on websites like Facebook, X, and YouTube, which the government claimed had neglected to register and submit to oversight, served as the impetus for the protests, which were dubbed the “Gen Z protest.”.
The “nepo kids” of political leaders, who live opulent lives while the majority of young people struggle to find employment, was another issue that infuriated a lot of young people.
