PM Karki Declares Gen-Z Protest Victims Martyrs as Death Toll Climbs to 72

Prime Minister Sushila Karki, on her first day in office on Sunday, declared those killed in the September 8–9 Gen-Z protests as martyrs and announced relief measures for their families as the death toll climbed to 72, according to Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal.

Presiding over her inaugural meeting at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Karki said each victim’s family will receive Rs 1 million in compensation, injured protesters will receive free treatment, and the government will ensure that the bodies of the deceased are transported to their local communities, the state-run national news agency RSS reported.

The same meeting also directed all ministries to act swiftly to meet the aspirations of Nepal’s youth by combating corruption, ensuring good governance, and advancing economic equality. “I have come not to enjoy the position but to serve,” Karki reportedly told senior bureaucrats, pledging to hand over responsibilities to a new parliament within six months.

Acknowledging the extensive damage from the protests, Karki said key government buildings and records were destroyed, security-force vehicles burned, and vital agencies selectively attacked. “This incident has happened for the first time in Nepal. It seems like a conspiracy. The guilty must be brought to justice,” she said, urging unity and a self-reliant approach to reconstruction.

Chief Secretary Aryal briefed the meeting on the nationwide destruction of government and security agency offices and stressed the need to prioritize budgets for rebuilding. Karki echoed that call, emphasizing that compensation and reconstruction must rely on domestic resources.

Citing the solidarity of citizens, Karki recounted a visit to Maharajganj where local business owners volunteered to rebuild a burned police post. “Let’s all unite like this. Let’s not criticize each other. Please support me,” RSS quoted her as saying.

Karki, appointed interim prime minister on September 12, assumed office Sunday in the building originally constructed for the Ministry of Home Affairs in Singha Durbar. – With inputs from RSS.