National Emergency declared against persistent locust threat

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Friday said the Pakistan government has declared a national emergency to combat locust swarms.

In a tweet, she said that the decision was taken in a meeting, chaired by Prime Minister
Imran Khan.

The meeting also approved the National Action Plan to combat locusts, in addition, a high-level committee has been constituted for taking steps against the critters at the federal level.

She further stated that the chairman of the committee would be Secretary National Food Security Division whereas Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) would be its focal person.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in the first week of September 2019 had warned that the situation relating to locusts in Pakistan was “most serious” as a second generation of the insect had been bred.

According to the FAO’s Locust Watch report, there remains a risk of further breeding, causing locust numbers to increase, with the possibility of swarm formation from late September onward.

Yemen and India are also facing a similar situation, and the situation could deteriorate in Ethiopia and Eritrea, the report said.