K.P. Sharma Oli resigns as Nepal PM as protests turn violent

Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned on Tuesday (September 9, 2025) a day after 19 people were killed in police firing as Gen Z-led anti-corruption protests intensified across Kathmandu and other parts of the country.

In his resignation letter submitted to President Ram Chandra Poudel, Mr. Oli said he was stepping down to facilitate a political solution to the deepening crisis. President Poudel accepted the resignation and urged all stakeholders, including “the representatives of Gen Z”, to engage in peaceful dialogue, even as attacks and arson incidents continued to grip the capital.

Also read: Nepal protests LIVE updates

Despite a curfew imposed by the local administration since early morning, thousands of protesters poured into the streets.

Late on Tuesday, Army Chief Gen. Ashok Raj Sigdel addressed the nation, calling on protesters to halt all their programmes and engage in dialogue. “Maintaining peace, security, harmony, national unity, and goodwill is the responsibility and duty of every Nepali,” said Gen. Sigdel. “To provide a peaceful resolution to the current difficult situation, we call upon the protesting groups to suspend their programmes and come forward for dialogue.” In another statement, the Nepal Army said that it will be deploying troops for security purposes if damage to public and private property does not stop.

The Army said that certain groups were taking advantage of the volatile situation and causing significant harm to both ordinary citizens and public assets. It urged an immediate end to such activities. “We would like to inform all that if such actions continue, the Nepal Army and all security agencies will fulfill their primary duty of ensuring the safety of Nepal and the Nepali people by taking control of the situation starting at 10 PM on September 9,” the statement said.

The Army added that the situation would be reassessed following the deployment, and further updates would be provided accordingly.

Earlier in the day, demonstrators targeted the homes of senior political leaders. Visuals circulating on social media, later confirmed by police, showed Mr. Oli’s private residence in Balkot, Bhaktapur, being set on fire.

Protesters also stormed and set ablaze the homes of former Prime Ministers Sher Bahadur Deuba and Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Several other ministers’ homes met a similar fate.

Smoke rises as demonstrators gather to protest against Monday’s killing despite a curfew in Kathmandu, on September 9, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Videos on social media showed Mr. Deuba and his wife Arzu Rana Deuba, who was the Foreign Minister until Tuesday morning, being manhandled by protesters.

In a dramatic escalation, demonstrators stormed the Parliament building, the Supreme Court, and Singha Durbar, the seat of government and set them on fire. Numerous government offices were also attacked across Kathmandu and beyond.

Protesters also attacked a building housing Kantipur Publications, the publisher of The Kathmandu Post and Kantipur.

Mr. Oli’s resignation has created a constitutional and administrative vacuum. With the political leadership under siege and the state’s authority rapidly eroding, Nepal stands at a crossroads, with no clear path forward, analysts say.

Binoj Basnyat, a retired major general and geopolitical strategist, said the crisis had long been in the making. “Options are difficult, and alternatives within the constitutional framework are even more difficult,” he told The Hindu. “One way forward, while staying within constitutional boundaries, could be for the President to take charge and hand over security management to the Nepal Army. But that step must be followed judiciously.”

That step means declaring a state of emergency.

He added that dialogue with both political leaders and protest groups must proceed in parallel, with a clear timetable and roadmap. The President assuming control may be legal on paper, but questions remain about whether President Poudel has the capability — not just the authority — to steer the country through this turmoil.

A leaderless uprising

What complicates the current movement is its lack of structured leadership.

Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, who got elected as an independent candidate, had expressed solidarity with the protests a day before they erupted.

Despite facing recent criticism for his governance, Mr. Shah remains widely popular among young people, many of whom are disillusioned with what they see as a corrupt and detached political class.

The central slogan of the current protests reflected the same sentiment: “Nepal’s political class lives lavishly at the expense of our parents’ tax money.”

Policemen in riot gear stand guard on a street as protesters burn tires violating curfew orders in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 9, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Following Mr. Oli’s resignation, Mr. Shah posted on Facebook, urging protesters to be ready to hold talks with the Army Chief. His remarks have sparked speculation about whether he is positioning himself to lead a potential interim administration.

“Be prepared to hold talks with the Army Chief,” he wrote. “But remember, Parliament must be dissolved before any such dialogue begins.”

Lamichhane released

In a parallel development, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chief Ravi Lamichhane, who was in jail on charges of embezzling cooperatives, was released on Tuesday afternoon. Authorities cited “security concerns’ for his release.

RSP was founded by Mr. Lamichhane, who cashed in on public dissatisfaction with traditional political forces. It had also expressed support for the ongoing protests. The party is currently the fourth-largest force in Parliament.

His release adds another dimension to the evolving situation, raising questions about a potential alliance between Mr. Lamichhane and Mayor Shah — both prominent figures outside Nepal’s mainstream political machinery.

With a caretaker Prime Minister, a paralysed Parliament, and no clear path forward, Nepal is facing what analysts describe as a directionless political vacuum.

Some have floated the idea of an interim government led by a civil society figure to oversee elections. But such a move would fall outside Nepal’s constitutional framework.

As violence engulfed Kathmandu and the political order appeared to unravel, warnings that Nepal could face a “Sri Lanka” or “Bangladesh” moment — once dismissed as too alarmist — now seem far more plausible.

Dambar Khatiwada, a writer and political analyst, said, “What once sounded like a passing statement now appears to have become reality.”

With chaos prevailing, accurate casualty figures remain sketchy.