Nepal’s interim premier vows to end corruption

Karki : ‘We have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation’

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Nepal’s new leader vowed on Sunday to follow protesters’ demands to “end corruption” as she began work as interim prime minister, after “Gen Z” youth demonstrations ousted her predecessor.

Sushila Karki, the 73-year-old former chief justice, has been tasked with restoring order and addressing protesters’ demands for a corruption-free future ahead of elections in six months.

Protests began on Monday sparked by a ban on social media and quickly escalated, with parliament and key government buildings set ablaze, as they fed into longstanding economic woes in Nepal. “We have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation,” said Karki, in her first public comments since taking office on Friday.

A fifth of people in Nepal aged 15-24 are unemployed, according to the World Bank, with GDP per capita standing at just $1,447.

“What this group is demanding is end of corruption, good governance and economic equality,” she added. “You and I have to be determined to fulfil that.”

‘From the streets’