Pakistan coordinates with South-West Asia on locust fight

Islamabad urges Tehran to chalk out joint mechanism; extend bilateral cooperation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday proposed the formation of a high level technical committee, comprising senior officers from southwest Asian countries for effective management and control of the locust attack, according to a statement issued by the Food Security Ministry.

At a high level ministerial meeting on Desert Locust threat to South-West Asian countries at Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) office in Islamabad, Pakistan also urged Iran to chalk out a joint mechanism to overcome the pest.

Food Security Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar represented Pakistan at the meeting, which was also attended by ministers and high officials from Iran, India, Afghanistan as well as officials from the FAO via video link.

Bakhtiar informed the meeting that 21 districts of Pakistan were affected by the locust attacks. Pakistan currently has 30 e-locust devices, had requested FAO for 100 more, the meeting was informed. Pakistan was also using three airplanes and four helicopters for aerial spray.

Bakhtiar proposed a high-level technical team to overcome locust. He stressed the need for timely sharing of information between the regional countries and formulation of a comprehensive operational plan. He urged Iran to chalk out a joint mechanism and extend bilateral support.

The FAO officials lauded the timely efforts taken by Pakistan in the wake of the locust attack and appealed other countries to follow in the footsteps of Islamabad. It was decided that the meetings on locust threat would be held on a weekly basis.