Army to assist civil administration in dealing with locust threat: COAS Bajwa

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday visited National Locust Control Center (NLCC) in Rawalpindi and received a briefing on measures to counter the locust threat, said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

According to the military’s media wing, General Qamar Javed Bajwa appreciated the NLCC role in synergizing national efforts in line with National Action Plan.

He reiterated that Army will make all possible resources available to help civil admin combat locust threat. The COAS said that effective control operations are essential for ensuring food security and mitigating its negative impact on the economy.

Earlier on May 17,National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had said that 51 districts of the country had been affected from locusts attack.

Detailing the areas that had come under locusts attack in the country, the NDMA had said that Balochistan province remained most affected with 27 of its districts facing locusts attack, followed by 13 districts in Punjab, nine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and two in Sindh province.

The spokesman of the authority had said that they had carried out surveys and sprays in the areas to counter the attack that has damaged fields in the agricultural country.