Pakistan declares national emergency to battle locusts

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Friday said the Pakistan government had declared national emergency to combat locusts.

SAPM Awan in a tweet said that the decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The meeting also approved National Action Plan to combat locust, she said, adding that a high-level committee has been constituted for taking steps at the federal level.

The chairman of the committee will be Secretary National Food Security Division whereas Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) would be its focal person, the PM’s aide noted.

Govt to spend Rs 7.3 billion to stop locust attacks: Khusro

Minister for National Food Security and Research Khusro Bakhtiar Friday told the National Assembly that Rs 7.3 billion would be spent in one and a half year to combat the locust attacks.

Read more: Swarm of locusts disrupts daily life in Karachi

Replying to concerns regarding locust attacks raised by the lawmakers in the National Assembly on Friday, the minister noted that the plant protection department had been historically ignored.

"The department had 20 planes for aerial sprays. But now only three are left," the minister told the NA, adding that 20,000 acres of land had already been sprayed with insecticides for locusts.

"If resources are allocated, the crops of cotton and others can be saved in time," Bakhtiar maintained.

"We have also prepared an action plan, implementable at the district level, for dealing with locust attacks," the minister said. "The federal government consulted with provinces and the armed forces on the matter."

Swarms of locusts had attacked crops in Sindh last year, damaging produce and hurting the beleaguered economy. Urban areas like Karachi were also hit by locust attacks.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had afterwards decided to provide Rs10 million to federal plant protection department to bridge finance gaps to spray desert areas - the natural habitat of locusts