Sushila Karki guides Nepal through political storm

Caretaker PM faces protests, collapsing economy, and looming monarchy amid march to 2026 elections.

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The tumultuous happenings over the last few days in Nepal have catapulted Sushila Karki, Nepals first female Chief Justice, to the ‘throne of thorns’ in Kathmandu’s Singha Durbar.

The jurist, long celebrated for her independence, now occupies the prime minister's chair, not as an ambitious politician but as a reluctant caretaker. Her task seems modest on paper ~ to guide a fractured nation to credible elections in March 2026.

In practice. itis a trial of the Himalayan nation’s democratic experiment itself.

Karki’ rise followed the dramatic resignation of KP Sharma Oli and his government after violent protests by the country’s youth that roiled this nation of 30 million over the last week,

Where earlier uprisings bargained with the political class, this generation issued a violent ultimatum and managed to get its way as royalists and ultra-leftists joined their ranks.

The protestors, dubbed Gen Z activists, organised as much on Discord as in Kathmandu’ plazas, turning disaffection into a mass movement. Their grievances—youth unemployment above 20 percent, chronic corruption scandals, and a stagnant economy—leave even the educated jobless or underemployed.

While none doubt their genuine anger that the government of the day has failed them, many questions remain unanswered even as observers draw parallels with similar events in Dhaka a year back.