The Nepal Army on Wednesday, citing threats to public security, said the prohibitory order in the country will remain effective until 5 pm, following which a nationwide curfew will be imposed until 6 am Thursday. The army said that in the name of the movement, the unruly groups carried out attacks on individuals and property and attempted sexual assaults.
What did the army say: “In the name of movement, various lawless individuals and groups are still infiltratingNew and committing acts such as vandalism and arson, vandalism and violent attacks on individuals, and attempts to intimidate, keeping in mind the overall security situation of the country, the curfew currently imposed will continue throughout the country until 5 pm (1700 hrs) on Bhadra 25, 2082 and thereafter the curfew order will continue until 6 am (0600 hrs) on Bhadra 26 tomorrow and further information will be disseminated based on the analysis of the situation,” the army said in a statement.
“During the curfew and curfew, essential service vehicles (ambulances, hearses, fire engines, health workers and security personnel) may operate. All concerned are requested to coordinate with the security personnel nearby for the necessary convenience,” it added.
Nepal unrest: ‘Gen Z’ protesters, enraged by the repressive actions of the K P Sharma Oli regime, set fire to government buildings, offices of major political parties, and the homes and offices of top political functionaries, including several former Prime Ministers, on Tuesday. Amid the raging demonstrations, Oli resigned, saying, “In view of the adverse situation in the country, I have resigned effective today to facilitate the solution to the problem and to help resolve it politically in accordance with the constitution.”
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s administration has doubled down, insisting that national sovereignty and dignity outweigh the backlash. The Ministry of Communications said platforms were given a week to comply with new rules. Police and district officials argued stricter oversight was necessary in a country where over 90 per cent of the population is online.
State television reported at least 14 people killed and more than 50 injured after police fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and used batons. Protesters alleged that police “fired indiscriminately,” while officials said force was used only after violence erupted. Reuters noted that it could not independently verify the casualty figures.
What began in Kathmandu quickly spread to government offices and cities like Pokhara, Biratnagar and Bharatpur. On Monday, thousands of young protesters, many in school and college uniforms, broke police barricades and stormed the parliament complex. An ambulance was set on fire, and riot police were attacked with stones and objects. The curfew was initially imposed Kathmandu which includes the President’s residence, Shital Niwas area, Maharajgunj, the vice-president’s residence in Lainchaur, all sides of Singha Durbar, the prime minister’s residence in Baluwatar, and surrounding areas.
The immediate spark was the government’s decision to ban over two dozen social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, X and Reddit. Authorities accused these platforms of failing to register with Nepali regulators and of being misused for hate speech, misinformation and fraud. TikTok was the only major platform to comply and remains accessible.
The ban covers 26 popular sites and messaging apps. Among the most widely used platforms now inaccessible are:
Only five companies complied with the registration order, and TikTok is the largest among them.
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TikTok stood out as the only major global platform still accessible in Nepal. Unlike its competitors, the Chinese-owned app completed the mandatory registration process within the stipulated period, agreeing to share company details with the government and accept local oversight.
Officials said this compliance ensured TikTok was not included in the ban list. The app had previously faced a nine-month suspension in 2023 over concerns of hate speech and cybercrime but was reinstated once it agreed to follow government rules.
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Nepal is witnessing the deadliest civil uprising in years as tens of thousands of young agitators took to Kathmandu’s streets to protest the government decision to block about two dozen social network platforms, including YouTube and Facebook.
For Nepal’s young, who make up the largest demographic in the country and are among the heaviest users of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, the government’s decision to block over two dozen platforms cut directly into their daily lives.
The demonstrations on Monday were called the protest of Gen Z, a term used to refer to people born between 1995 and 2010. With the age group of 16-25 years accounting for 20.8 per cent of total population and 90 per cent of its 30 million people using the internet, the country has become a fertile ground for a digitally native generation to mobilise online dissent into mass street protests.
Many protestors were seen in their school and college uniforms as they swarmed New Baneshwor, which houses the Parliament, the government secretariat, and the presidential house.
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At least 14 people have died in Nepal on Monday in violent protests against a social media shutdown by the government and alleged corruption, state-run television said.
Pictures: AP
Massive Generation Z-led protests erupted in Kathmandu after Nepal banned 26 major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp. Initially peaceful, demonstrations turned violent as protesters breached barricades near Parliament, vandalized gates, and clashed with police.
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At least eight young men were killed and many others wounded Monday as the police lobbed tear gas shells to disperse a Gen-Z crowd in Kathmandu that entered Nepal’s parliament, opposing the ban on social media platforms and government corruption.
So far, eight deaths have been confirmed, with an unspecified number of wounded, some critically, as protesters took to the streets in New Baneshwor.
The men, all under 30, had assembled at Maitighar Mandala, a designated protest spot, approximately 1,200 meters away from Nepal’s parliament, to protest against what they claimed was rampant corruption and the impunity with which the rulers had been operating, ignoring all demands for a probe into corruption in high places.
After thousands of Gen-Z protesters took to the streets in a massive protest, and stormed the parliament and other government offices, the Nepal government imposed curfew in most parts of Kathmandu and Pokhara, where protests and clashes with the police took place.
Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, whose resignation is now top of the agenda, called an emergency cabinet meeting in the evening.
(Reported by Yubaraj Ghimire)
At least one person died and more than 50 people were injured in Nepal on Monday in violent protests against a social media shutdown and alleged corruption, state television said.
- Reuters
(ANI)
Nepali police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse young protesters who tried to storm the Parliament building, officials and witnesses said. “We have imposed a curfew that will remain in effect until 10 p.m. local time (1615 GMT) to bring the situation under control after protesters turned violent,” Kathmandu district office spokesperson Muktiram Rijal told Reuters.
He added that security forces were ordered to use water cannons, batons, and rubber bullets to push back the demonstrators.
“Stop the ban on social media, stop corruption not social media,” the crowds chanted, waving the red and blue national flags. Monday's rally was called the protest of Gen Z, generally referring to people born between 1995 and 2010.About two dozen social network platforms that are widely used in Nepal were repeatedly given notices to register their companies officially in the country, the government said. Those which failed to register have been blocked since last week.
-- AP
About 90% of Nepal's 30 million people use the internet.
Nepal's social media shutdown comes as governments worldwide, including the US, EU, Brazil, India, China and Australia, take steps to tighten oversight of social media and Big Tech due to growing concern about issues such as misinformation, data privacy, online harm and national security. Critics say many of these measures risk stifling free expression, but regulators say stricter controls are needed to protect users and preserve social order.
"We have imposed a curfew which will remain in force until 10 p.m. local time (1615 GMT) to bring the situation under control after protesters began to turn violent," Muktiram Rijal, a spokesperson for the Kathmandu district office, told Reuters. Police had orders to use water cannons, batons and rubber bullets to control the crowd, Rijal said.
The government said social media users with fake IDs have been spreading hate speech and fake news, and committing fraud and other crimes via some platforms. In a nationwide protest against the move, thousands of youths, many in their school and college uniforms, marched towards the country’s parliament on Monday with national flags and placards with slogans such as “Shut down corruption and not social media”, “Unban social media”, and “Youths against corruption”, written on them. However, they were stopped by police who erected a barbed wire barricade.
With almost all social media platforms banned, the organisers and support groups used TikTok, which continues to operate, to ask the “corrupt leaders” to disclose their income sources.
Prime Minister Oli said he hoped that the youth would understand the consequences of violating the law. He, however, said he was a votary of people’s right to protest.
The movement spiralled five days after the K P Sharma Oli government ordered a shut down of 26 social media platforms including Instagram, Whatsapp, Signal and WeChat after their refusal to register with the government and endorse a move to bring their users under state vigilance under a directive and law it plans to bring about.
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