Kathmandu — The Cabinet meeting held on Thursday decided to extend the tenure of the commission formed to investigate incidents related to the Gen-Z movement by an additional 20 days. The decision was announced by Government Spokesperson and Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal following the meeting.
According to Aryal, the commission headed by former Supreme Court justice Gauri Bahadur Karki has been granted more time to complete its investigation into the incidents that occurred during the Gen-Z movement, including allegations of excessive use of force. This marks the second extension of the commission’s term. Earlier, a meeting of the Council of Ministers on December 3 had extended the commission’s tenure by one month.
The three-member inquiry commission was constituted to investigate the incidents of October 20 linked to the Gen-Z movement. Along with chairperson Karki, the panel includes former Nepal Police Additional Inspector General Bigyanraj Sharma and legal scholar Bishweshwor Prasad Bhandari. The commission was initially mandated to submit its report within three months.
The Gen-Z movement witnessed violent clashes on Bhadra 23 and 24, during which at least 74 people lost their lives, making it one of the deadliest protest-related incidents in recent years. The extension, according to the government, is aimed at allowing the commission sufficient time to complete a comprehensive and credible investigation.
In the same Cabinet meeting, Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal was assigned the additional responsibility of serving as the government’s official spokesperson. The spokesperson position had remained vacant after former Minister for Communications and Information Technology Jagdish Kharel resigned from the Cabinet to contest the House of Representatives elections.
Kharel is now a candidate of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party from Lalitpur-2. With Aryal taking over spokesperson duties, the government aims to ensure continuity in official communications during a politically sensitive period.
