Kathmandu [Nepal], November 19 (ANI): An eight-hour curfew has been imposed in the Simara Airport area of Nepal’s Bara District after clashes broke out between Gen-Z youth and CPN-UML supporters on Wednesday.
The District Administration Office in Bara announced the curfew beginning midday, following tensions that erupted as Gen-Z demonstrators gathered upon learning that UML leaders were arriving in Simara. “The curfew covers 500 meters on both sides of the Gandak Canal–Pathlaiya road section and 500 meters around Simara Airport,” the order stated. Flights between Kathmandu and Simara have been suspended.
The unrest escalated as UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel and party leader Mahesh Basnet were scheduled to travel through Simara Airport to attend a program in Parwanipur. Their arrival prompted demonstrations by Gen-Z protesters.
The CPN-UML on Tuesday announced plans to file a writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging the dissolution of the House of Representatives. President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved the House on September 12 on the recommendation of Prime Minister Sushila Karki, following the Gen-Z movement that triggered widespread unrest across Nepal. At least 78 people were killed in violent protests on September 8 and 9. The Karki administration now holds the mandate to conduct snap polls on March 5.
A meeting of the dissolved UML parliamentary party on Tuesday concluded that reinstating Parliament was the only viable path forward and accordingly decided to petition the Supreme Court. More than a dozen petitions seeking reinstatement of the House have already been filed, and the Court has begun hearing arguments.
The UML, the second-largest party in the dissolved House, has authorized Mahesh Bartaula and Sunita Baral to file a case on its behalf. In a statement issued after the meeting, Bartaula said the appointment of former Chief Justice Karki as prime minister violated Article 76, which outlines government formation, and Article 132(2), which bars former Supreme Court justices from holding executive positions unless otherwise permitted by the constitution.
The statement argued that dissolving Parliament was one of the key demands of the Gen-Z movement but maintained that Karki’s appointment itself was unconstitutional and against the mandate of the 2022 general election. “The subsequent act by the unconstitutionally appointed prime minister, who immediately dissolved the House of Representatives without even forming a full Council of Ministers, is against the letter and spirit of the constitution,” it read. “This act undermines constitutionalism, the rule of law, democracy, and the sovereign power vested in the people.”
The meeting concluded with a decision to file a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking reinstatement of the House to reverse what it called an “unconstitutional and anti-democratic step.”
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