The first Cabinet meeting of Nepal’s newly formed government on Friday decided to immediately implement the report of a high-level commission that investigated last year’s violent Gen Z protests, including recommendations for up to 10 years’ imprisonment for senior officials such as former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli for alleged negligence during the uprising.The meeting, chaired by newly sworn-in Prime Minister Balendra Shah, popularly known as ‘Balen’, also appointed Science and Technology Minister Sasmit Pokharel as government spokesperson. Pokharel later told reporters that while a study team would examine recommendations concerning security officials, other proposed actions would be implemented without delay.Earlier in the day, Shah, 35, a rapper-turned-politician and former mayor of Kathmandu, was sworn in as Nepal’s youngest Prime Minister in decades and the first Madhesi leader to head the Himalayan nation. His Rastriya Swatantra Party secured 182 seats in the 275-member Parliament in the March 5 election held months after anti-corruption protests that left 76 people dead.More than 200 Hindu priests and Buddhist lamas offered prayers during the ceremony at the President House, attended by diplomats and senior officials. Shah subsequently unveiled a 14-member Cabinet, naming Harvard-educated economist Swarnim Wagle as finance minister, in line with his pledge to keep the government lean.Experts say the administration’s immediate test will be transparent service delivery and implementation of the protest probe’s findings, a key demand of victims’ families. Political instability has long plagued Nepal, which has seen 32 governments since 1990, none completing a full term.Congratulating Shah, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed hope for deeper bilateral cooperation. “Your appointment reflects the trust reposed in your leadership by the people of Nepal. I look forward to working closely with you to take India-Nepal friendship and cooperation to even greater heights for the mutual benefit of our two peoples,” PM Modi posted on X.