Nepal’s interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki bolstered her cabinet on Monday by appointing four new ministers, who took their oaths before President Ram Chandra Paudel at Shital Niwas, the president’s official residence.
Taking on key roles, Anil Kumar Sinha—a former justice—now leads three ministries: Industry, Commerce and Supply; Law and Justice; and Land Reforms, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation. Mahabir Pun, the renowned Magsaysay award winner, steps in as minister for Education and Science and Technology. Pun has championed science and research in Nepal for years and currently heads the National Innovation Centre, driving innovation across the country.
Madan Prasad Pariyar, a top expert in climate and agriculture, becomes the new agriculture minister. He heads the Samata Foundation, a nonprofit focused on social justice and inclusion, and once coordinated Nepal’s high-level state restructuring commission during the Constituent Assembly. Rounding out the group, media veteran Jagdish Kharel takes the helm as information and communications minister. Kharel serves as editor of Image Channels.
The Karki cabinet already includes three holdovers: Rameshore Khanal handling finance, Kulman Ghising overseeing energy, water resources, and irrigation, and Om Prakash Aryal managing home affairs.
In other Nepal government news, the interim administration moved quickly on Sunday to form a high-level commission investigating the deadly Gen Z uprising that erupted two weeks ago. The protests, sparked by demands to end a social media ban and fight corruption, turned violent, leading to widespread arson, vandalism, and tragic losses of life and property.
Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal announced that retired High Court Judge Gauri Bahadur Kaki, former chair of the Special Court, will lead the probe. Joining her are former Additional Inspector General of Nepal Police Bigyan Raj Sharma and advocate Bishweshwor Prasad Bhandari. Set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act, the panel has three months to deliver its findings.
The unrest boiled over on September 8 when police clashed with protesters outside parliament, killing 21 students and youths during the anti-corruption movement. The next day brought more devastation, with 39 deaths reported—including 15 from burns. By the seventh day of violence, 12 additional lives were lost, leaving Nepal grappling with the fallout.
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