The wife of former Nepalese Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal tragically died on Tuesday after being burned alive when her home was attacked during violent anti-government protests, international media report.
Amid the chaos, the Nepalese Parliament building and the residences of other political leaders were also set on fire, plunging the Himalayan nation into a serious crisis.
The demonstrations, led largely by Gen Z activists, began on Monday in response to the government’s ban on major social media platforms, compounded by longstanding frustration over political corruption and limited opportunities for youth.
While the government lifted the social media ban on Tuesday and Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, along with several senior officials, resigned, protests reportedly continued into the third day. At least 22 people have been reported dead and hundreds injured in the unrest.
Thousands of protesters have defied curfews despite calls from the military for calm and dialogue.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemned the violence and urged Nepalese authorities to curb excessive force. “I am shocked by the rising violence in Nepal, which has claimed the lives of many young protesters. Reports of disproportionate force by authorities must be investigated immediately. Dialogue—not violence—is the way forward,” he said via X.
A 22-year-old Gen Z protester, Pabit Tandukar, who was injured in clashes outside the Kathmandu Parliament building, said demonstrators are demanding “mass resignations” in response to the crisis. “We came to protest peacefully. At first, they used tear gas on us, and we resisted. Suddenly, I was shot,” he told Al Jazeera. Tandukar and other injured protesters were immediately taken to local hospitals.
Following the Prime Minister’s resignation, Interior Minister Ramesh Lekhak also stepped down, but protests show no signs of abating.
