{"id":13098,"date":"2025-09-13T15:39:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T10:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/?p=13098"},"modified":"2025-09-13T15:39:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T10:39:04","slug":"gen-z-revolution-targeting-elites-demands-change-in-nepal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/?p=13098","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Gen Z\u2019 revolution targeting elites demands change in Nepal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2022 Youth, upset by their leaders\u2019 lavish lifestyle, brought the nation of 30m to a standstill<br>\u2022 Stormed parliament, set ablaze luxury hotels, attacked houses of \u2018corrupt politicians\u2019<br>\u2022 President seeks end to crisis; PM resigns; ex-chief justice tipped to lead political transition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">KATHMANDU: Protests fuelled by a youth-led \u2018Gen Z\u2019 movement against corruption and inequality&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1940983\/soldiers-guard-nepals-parliament-patrol-streets-after-two-days-of-deadly-protests\">engulfed<\/a>&nbsp;Nepal this week, forcing the prime minister to resign after demonstrators stormed parliament in the Himalayan nation\u2019s worst upheaval in years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amid the chaos, arsonists attacked luxury hotels and the residences of political leaders, reflecting a deep-seated public anger at the lavish lifestyle of the elites in one of the world\u2019s poorest countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, 73, an unpopular four-time leader, resigned on Tuesday, a day after 19 protesters were killed in clashes with security forces. The death toll has since risen to 34, with more than 1,300 people injured, according to Nepal\u2019s health ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The demonstrations, popularly called the \u201cGen Z\u201d protests as most participants were in their teens or early 20s, have brought the nation of 30 million to a standstill. The army has imposed a curfew, with soldiers patrolling the largely quiet streets of Kathmandu for a second day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As protesters set fire to government buildings including the parliament, the prime minister\u2019s office and the Supreme Court, arsonists also targeted five-star hotels like the Hilton, the Hyatt Regency and the Varnabas Museum Hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The homes of politicians, including Oli, were also attacked. His whereabouts remain unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Hyatt Regency, located near the significant Buddhist site of Boudhanath Stupa, was damaged, front office manager Bhushan Rane told Reuters. He confirmed no guests or staff were injured and said the hotel would remain closed until further notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the Kathmandu Hilton, a five-star glass tower that opened last year, black plumes of smoke billowed into the sky after it was torched. A Hilton spokesperson said the property sustained damage and was closed after guests and staff were safely evacuated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leaders of the protest movement have distanced themselves from the arson attacks, blaming infiltrators for the violence. But analysts point to mounting frustration over wealth inequality and perceived corruption within the political establishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>President seeks end to crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Ramchandra Paudel on Thursday appealed for calm, saying he was seeking a swift end to the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am consulting and making every effort to find a way out of the current difficult situation in the country, within the constitutional framework,\u201d Paudel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Army Chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel has launched talks with key political figures and \u201crepresentatives of Gen Z,\u201d a military spokesperson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Protest leaders said their primary demand is the overhaul of the current political system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur first demand is the dissolution of parliament,\u201d Sudan Gurung, a key figure among the protesters, told reporters on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He insisted the movement was not seeking power for itself. \u201cMy humble request to everyone, including political parties: please don\u2019t send the same old leaders. We don\u2019t need positions in government. We need real reform.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The unrest taps into longstanding economic woes in Nepal, where GDP per capita is just $1,447 and more than a fifth of people aged 15-24 are unemployed, according to the World Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With much of the old guard having vanished from public view, the search is on for an interim leader. Sushila Karki, 73, Nepal\u2019s first female chief justice, has emerged as a leading choice, according to protest representatives, though her backing is not unanimous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rakshya Bam, an activist present at the army meeting, said, \u201cRight now, Sushila Karki\u2019s name is coming up to lead the interim government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, 35, posted on Facebook that he \u201cfully supports the proposal\u201d of Justice Karki leading an interim government to hold new elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Inequality<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Gen Z movement gained traction in recent months through posts on TikTok, Instagram and other social media sites allegedly showing the children of Nepal\u2019s leaders enjoying designer clothes and pricey vacations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The images contrasted sharply with the reality for many young Nepalis, thousands of whom leave the country daily seeking economic opportunities abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat is the frustration of the common people,\u201d said retired Supreme Court justice Balaram K.C. \u201cYou people who are supposed to run the country in an honest way, you are taking care of yourself and your relatives and no one else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The chaos escalated as more than 13,500 prisoners broke out of jails nationwide, with security forces scrambling to recapture them. Only about 250 have been retaken, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2022 Youth, upset by their leaders\u2019 lavish lifestyle, brought the nation of 30m to a standstill\u2022 Stormed parliament, set ablaze luxury hotels, attacked houses of \u2018corrupt politicians\u2019\u2022 President seeks end to crisis; PM resigns; ex-chief justice tipped to lead political transition KATHMANDU: Protests fuelled by a youth-led \u2018Gen Z\u2019 movement against corruption and inequality&nbsp;engulfed&nbsp;Nepal this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","inline_featured_image":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3859443944190656_798604363342440":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13098"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13100,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13098\/revisions\/13100"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}