The Himalayan nation’s worst upheaval in years, which killed 51 people this week and injured more than 1,300 as police fought to control crowds, was sparked by a social media ban, now rolled back. The violence subsided only after former PM KP Sharma Oli’s resigned. Former CJI Karki took oath on Friday night around 8:30 pm.
SNPNEWS.IN News Update, Sep 25: Kathmandu is bracing for a new chapter in its tumultuous political history. Violence-affected Nepal finally gets a new Prime Minister in the form of former CJI Sushila Karki. The controversy over corruption, nepotism, and unemployment, fueled by the ban on social media apps, led to the collapse of former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s government.
During the violence on 8-9 September, over three dozen people were killed, and more than 1,000 were injured. Government and private property worth billions of rupees was destroyed. The Nepal Army intervened to restore peace and decided to form an interim government in consultation with Gen Z activists. After the resignation of the former Prime Minister, names like former CJI Sushila Karki and Balen Shah were considered for the role of Prime Minister.
Following a consensus between approximately 5,000 Gen Z supporters and the Nepal Army, former CJI Sushila Karki was announced as the interim Prime Minister. She is Nepal’s first female Prime Minister and was sworn in by President Ram Chandra Paudel on 12 September 2025. This appointment was made under Article 61 of Nepal’s Constitution.
Sushila Karki (age 73) was chosen for her impartiality and anti-corruption stance. She served as Nepal’s first female Chief Justice from 2016 to 2017 and is known for her landmark anti-corruption judgments.
However, her husband, Durga Prasad Subedi, a former youth wing leader of the Nepali Congress, is linked to a controversy involving the hijacking of a Royal Nepal Airlines flight (from Biratnagar to Kathmandu) on 10 June 1973. The hijacked plane carried 19 passengers, including Bollywood actress Mala Sinha.
The hijacking was planned by Nepali Congress leader Girija Prasad Koirala to raise funds for an anti-monarchy movement. Subedi, a close associate of Koirala, had recently been released from jail. The hijackers diverted the plane to Forbesganj, Bihar (India), and looted NPR 3 million (approximately $400,000) from the Nepal State Bank, intended for transfer to Kathmandu.
The hijackers (Subedi, Nagendra Dhungel, and Basant Bhattarai) were apprehended by Mumbai police and sentenced to two years in prison. They were released in 1975 after the Emergency in India ended.