Nepal’s army is resuming talks with protesters to pick an interim leader for the Himalayan nation, after violence that removed the government of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, according to an army spokesperson.

Soldiers were patrolling the quiet streets of the capital Kathmandu for a second day on Thursday following the worst protests in decades, triggered by a social media ban that authorities rolled back after deadly protests this week.

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Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel meanwhile said he is seeking an end to the crisis engulfing the country.

“I am consulting and making every effort to find a way out of the current difficult situation in the country within the constitutional framework,” Paudel said in a statement. “I appeal to all parties to be confident that a solution to the problem is being sought as soon as possible to address the demands of the protesting citizens.”

Paudel also urged Nepalis to “practice restraint and cooperate to maintain peace and order in the country”.

Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet told the Reuters news agency earlier on Thursday that “initial talks are on and would continue today,” referring to the discussions on an interim leader. “We are trying to normalise the situation slowly.”

Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from Kathmandu, said “there is an uneasy calm here on the streets.

“It does feel like an uneasy standoff at times because things are still extremely tense” as crowds gather routinely in front of the military headquarters before being pushed back by soldiers, he added.

Frontrunner Karki

Former Chief Justice Sushila Karki, who was Nepal’s first woman appointed to the job in 2016, is reportedly the frontrunner for interim leader, with her name suggested by many of those leading the protests.

“We see Sushila Karki for who she truly is – honest, fearless, and unshaken,” said Sujit Kumar Jha, 34, a supporter of the agitation. “She’s the right choice. When truth speaks, it sounds like Karki.”

Karki, 73, has given her consent, but efforts are being made to find a constitutional route to appoint her, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

However, there were some differences over her candidature among the protesters, who were seeking to reach a unanimous decision, another source said.

Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah, an independent politician who is popular among the young protesters, and several others have voiced support for Karki, but divisions within both the protest camp and mainstream parties leave Nepal’s political future unclear.

KP Khanal, an activist who was at the forefront of the protest, said many young demonstrators like him, who have not been invited to the talks, are watching developments cautiously.

“Nothing is looking clear. We were together during the peaceful protest, but the situation has changed after we dispersed,” he said.

Hope for ‘political solution’

The next big question, said Al Jazeera’s McBride, is whether an interim government can be formed and what it will look like.

“A lot of the groups that have led these protests … don’t necessarily see eye to eye and work together,” said McBride. “Some of them are in open conflict with each other, so it’s [a] difficult [situation] but the military is trying to facilitate this dialogue to lead to an interim government.”

The situation on the ground is “very tense; it could go either way at the moment”, said McBride. “The hope is that there will be a political solution to this situation.”

Shops, schools and colleges stayed shut in Kathmandu and surrounding areas, but some essential services had resumed.

A nationwide curfew first imposed on Tuesday night will remain in place until Friday.

Despite the extension, the army has eased restrictions to allow smoother movement for essential service workers.

In a statement issued late on Wednesday, it said domestic and international air travellers would also be permitted to move freely upon showing their tickets.

The death toll from the protests had risen to 31 by Thursday, local media reported. According to the Forensic Medicine Department at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, where dead bodies of protesters have been taken for postmortem, preliminary identities of 25 victims have been established so far. The identities of the remaining six deceased, one of whom is a woman, are not yet known, local English daily Kathmandu Post reported.

The demonstrations that rocked Nepal this week are popularly referred to as the “Gen Z” protests, since most participants were young people voicing frustration at the government’s perceived failure to fight corruption and boost economic opportunities.

Government buildings, from the Supreme Court to ministers’ homes, including Oli’s private residence, were also set ablaze in the protests, which only subsided after the prime minister resigned. Business establishments set on fire included several hotels in the tourist town of Pokhara and the Hilton in Kathmandu.