Nepal’s Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli resigned Tuesday after violent protests over a short-lived social media ban spiraled into wider unrest, echoing youth-led upheaval in neighboring Bangladesh that forced Sheikh Hasina from office last year.
Police gunfire left 19 people dead in Kathmandu as demonstrators torched homes of senior leaders, including Oli’s, and stormed parliament. The ban on Facebook, X, and YouTube was lifted, but anger over corruption, nepotism, and elite privilege kept fueling the movement.
With youth unemployment at 20 percent and more than 2,000 Nepalis leaving daily for work abroad, resentment mirrors the frustrations that powered Gen Z in Bangladesh. Protesters vowed to continue until the political class is held accountable. Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak also resigned.