Nepal to get first female PM after deadly unrest

Nepal’s former Supreme Court chief justice Sushila Karki is set to become the country’s interim prime minister after deadly anti-corruption protests ousted the government.

Karki, 73, will be the first woman to lead the impoverished Himalayan nation after a deal was reached with the protest leaders for her to be sworn in.

More than 50 people were killed in clashes with riot police during this week’s mass protests sparked by a ban on social media platforms.

The ban was lifted on Monday – but by then protests had swelled into a mass movement. Angry crowds set fire to parliament and government buildings in the capital Kathmandu on Tuesday, forcing Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign.

Karki would take the oath of office on Friday evening, President Ram Chandra Poudel’s press adviser confirmed to the BBC.

The agreement between the president and the protest leaders was reached after days of consultations. Legal experts were also involved.

Parliament is expected to be dissolved shortly.

Karki is widely regarded as a person of clean image, and is being supported by student leaders from the so-called “Gen Z” to lead the interim government.

Nepal’s army has deployed patrols on the streets of Kathmandu, as the country reels from its worst unrest in decades.

The protests were triggered by the government’s decision last week to ban 26 social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook – but they soon widened to embody much deeper discontent with Nepal’s political elite.

In the weeks before the ban, a “nepo kid” campaign, spotlighting the lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children and allegations of corruption, had taken off on social media.

And while the social media ban was hastily lifted on Monday night, the protests had by that stage gained unstoppable momentum.