Another locust attack expected in Pakistan in July: minister

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz Thursday said locusts attack has happened in Pakistan after 27 years but the government has made full preparations to tackle it.

At a press conference, the minister said that National Locust Control Cell was being established to face this challenge. He said that presently locusts were present in five divisions of Punjab and some areas of Balochistan and Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Shibli said that there was a threat of another locusts attack on Pakistan from Africa in early July. However, he added that

preparations were made to tackle the situation as ample pesticides were available and six planes were available for fighting locusts.

Three more planes, he noted, should be available by July 15 and that the government was ready to meet the situation if any flood emergency situation arises during monsoon season.

The minister regretted that it was unfortunate to see the role of PPP with regard to COVID-19 and now in relation to locusts attack, alleging that the Sindh government was doing politics on the locust crisis in order to defame the federal government and to cover up its own embarrassment.

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, he claimed, would attend the NCOC meetings and agree to the decisions but afterwards, would do politics and their policy on locust had failed, as it did on the coronavirus.