Nepal PM Sushila Karki pledges to punish those responsible for arson and destruction during Gen Z protests.
Families of victims in the September 8–9 protests to receive one million Nepalese rupees each.
K P Sharma Oli resigns after protesters storm his office, ending a nationwide agitation.
Nepal Prime Minister Sushila Karki on Sunday said those responsible for violence and destruction during last week’s anti-government protests would be brought to justice, as she formally assumed office in Kathmandu.
Karki, 73, the country’s first woman prime minister, announced that people killed during the ‘Gen Z’ protests would be declared martyrs, with each family receiving one million Nepalese rupees in compensation. Free treatment will be provided to the injured, PTI reported.
She assumed office at the newly built Home Ministry building in the Singhdurbar Secretariat complex. The Prime Minister’s Office has been shifted there after being set on fire during the violent protests on Tuesday, according to PTI.
President Ram Chandra Paudel has appointed Kulman Ghising, Rameshwor Khanal and Om Prakash Aryal as ministers on Karki’s recommendation. Ghising will oversee Energy, Urban Development, and Road and Transport; Khanal will take Finance; and Aryal will head the Home Ministry. The three ministers will be sworn in on Monday afternoon at the President’s Office.
Addressing senior officials after taking office, Karki said the arson and vandalism seen on 9 September had been “pre-planned” and not carried out by Gen Z protesters. “The kind of arson and vandalism that has taken place is a criminal act. This was carried out in an organised manner. Those responsible must be punished,” she said. She directed Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal to arrange repairs of damaged police posts across the country.
According to PTI, the protests began on 8 September against a government ban on social media and soon grew into a wider mobilisation against corruption and political indifference. The agitation led to the resignation of K P Sharma Oli on Tuesday, after demonstrators stormed his office.
The former chief justice was appointed caretaker prime minister by President Paudel on the recommendation of the Gen Z group, which led the two-day protest that toppled Oli’s government.
Chief Secretary Aryal said the death toll from the agitation had reached 72, including three policemen, 59 protesters and 10 prisoners. He said at least 19 people had died in police action during the 8 September protests.
(With inputs from PTI)
