Former Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba leaves for Singapore for treatment

Kathmandu: Former Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who was gravely injured in the violent Gen Z protests last month, left for Singapore on Monday night for further medical treatment, his party official said here.

Deuba, president of the Nepali Congress (NC), is accompanied by his wife Arzu Rana Deuba, the incumbent foreign minister before the regime change, who too was injured during the violent youth-led protests.

Deuba, 79, and his wife departed from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 11.05 pm local time, NC chief secretary Krishna Prasad Paudel confirmed.

The couple was seriously injured on the second day of Gen Z protests in September and were rescued by the army from their residence in Kathmandu. They were later rushed to the military hospital for treatment.

Deuba, who refrained from public appearances after the incident, had received 12 stitches on his head and neck, the sources said.

He served five terms as the prime minister: 1995-1997, 2001-2002, 2004-2005, 2017-2018, and 2021-2022.

His last known appearance was on October 14 at the party office at Sanepa, in Laitpur district.

Deuba had announced that day that he will retire from active politics after the next general convention of the party, scheduled to be held next month. He also designated party vice president Purna Bahadur Khadka as the acting president of NC.

Sushila Karki, 73, became Nepal's first woman prime minister on September 12 after the ouster of then prime minister K P Sharma Oli following youth-led Gen Z protests against the government over corruption and a ban on social media.

Nepal Army on October 17 said 22 youths were killed in firing by security personnel during Gen Z protests on September 8, the first day of the movement, and 54 were killed on September 9. Oli resigned on September 9.