Nepal Protest: PM KP Sharma Oli Calls For All-Party Meeting Amid Youth-Led Uprising
Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli has called for an all-party meeting at 6 pm today as the country reels from its most violent protests in years.
“I am in dialogue with the relevant parties to assess the situation and find a meaningful conclusion. For that, I have also called an all-party meeting this evening. I humbly request all brothers and sisters to remain calm in this difficult situation,” PM Oli said in a public appeal.
According to The Himalayan Times, at least 19 people have been killed and more than 350 injured since Monday as demonstrations escalated across Kathmandu Valley and Itahari.
Verified reports confirm that 17 people died in the capital alone, while hospitals are overwhelmed with patients suffering gunshot wounds. Doctors have urgently appealed for blood donations as supplies run dangerously low.
Contrary to claims on some Indian news channels that the protests were sparked by Nepal’s recent ban on 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, multiple local accounts and first-hand reports stress that the real cause is decades of corruption, nepotism, and poor governance.
Also, Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli is reportedly set to travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to sources cited by India Today.
A viral Reddit post by a Nepali citizen described the ban as “only the spark” for a youth-led, non-political movement demanding accountability and reform.
Read also: What’s Really Happening In Nepal? Reddit Post Reveals Youth-Led Anti-Corruption Protests
Protesters, many of them students in school uniforms, carried placards calling for an end to impunity and oppression. The organisers had insisted the rallies would remain peaceful.
However, violence erupted after a group of suspected infiltrators stormed barricades near the federal parliament in Baneswor. Security forces responded with tear gas, water cannons, and live ammunition. Eyewitnesses and verified social media videos show students being shot in the head.
The bloodshed has triggered immediate political consequences. Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak of the Nepali Congress resigned late Monday. Opposition parties have demanded that the entire NC-UML coalition step down and announce early elections. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Nepal’s fourth-largest, has already called for a snap poll.
Oli, who had previously dismissed the youth movement as “naive” and “provoked,” is now facing his most serious challenge in years. Analysts note that his decision to remove age and term limits within his UML party, effectively ensuring his leadership for the foreseeable future, has only deepened public anger.
The uprising reportedly reflects frustration not just with censorship, but with Nepal’s broader governance crisis. For years, nearly 5,000 young Nepalis have migrated abroad daily due to a lack of jobs and opportunities at home.
Meanwhile, the children of politicians flaunt lavish lifestyles online, fueling resentment. The recent viral “Nepo Babies” trend amplified this anger, echoing similar youth uprisings in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
The situation worsened after CCTV footage showed a minister’s car hitting a young woman at a zebra crossing in Godavari. Oli’s dismissal of the incident as a “minor injury” further inflamed the public mood.
For many young Nepalis, Monday’s massacre has turned a peaceful call for reform into a historic anti-corruption movement. Their demands now go beyond restoring social media as they want accountability, justice, and a government that serves its people.
