Nepali youth demand release of govt report into deadly uprising sparked by social media ban
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Nepalese Gen Zs staging a symbolic protest to demand the release of findings into the deadly September 2025 uprising., in Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 22.
PHOTO: EPA
KATHMANDU – Nepali youth staged a demonstration in the capital of Kathmandu on March 22, demanding the release of findings of a probe into the deadly 2025 uprising, which forced the previous government to collapse.
At least 77 people were killed in the Sept 8-9 protests in 2025, which began over a brief social media ban but tapped into longstanding fury over corruption and economic hardship. No one has been held accountable for the deaths.
Just days after Nepal went to the polls on March 5, interim leader Sushila Karki formed a commission to probe the violence – in which Parliament and scores of government buildings were set ablaze.
More than 200 people were questioned, including ousted former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli, and a 900-page report with an additional 8,000 pages of evidence was submitted to the commission for investigation.
“We are here seeking the report of why the incident happened, why so many youth were killed,” 26-year-old activist Sanatan Rijal told AFP news agency.
Another activist Laxmi Ghimire, who was at the protest on March 22, said “promoting a motto of good governance will not make the country and its people feel it”.
The demonstration on March 22 is one of many that have erupted in Nepal’s capital over the past week calling on the interim government for transparency.
Ms Karki said the interim government would make a summary of findings public but would entrust the newly elected Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which is expected to be sworn in next week, with the implementation of any of the commission’s possible recommendations.
The RSP campaigned alongside popular rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, presenting him as its prime ministerial candidate.
Mr Shah, 35, defeated veteran four-time prime minister Oli, whose Marxist-led government was ousted during 2025’s protests.
His upset victory and rapid rise from Kathmandu mayor to expected prime minister mark one of the most dramatic shifts in recent Nepali politics. AFP
