ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday said the federal government had failed to take steps to check the imminent attack of locusts in Sindh and other provinces where they were destroying standing crops and fruits.

In a statement issued here, the PPP chairman said he had repeatedly warned the central government about the threat of locust attacks posed tothe economy but it did not move and finally the country’s agriculture came under severe locust onslaught.

He said failure of the PTI-led federal government to protect the growers and their crops from the locust attacks was an unpardonable criminal negligence and Prime Minister Imran Khan and his entire cabinet has to be held responsible for worsening the situation.

The PPP chairman said time and again he and his party leaders had been raising the issue and stressing implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) agreed between the federal and provincial governments to ward off the locust threats.

He said the required number of planes was not hired to control the swarms heading towards the meadows from borders as it was the duty of Plant Protection Department of the federal government to arrange measures to destroy locusts at the entry points.

Says failure to protect growers and their crops from locusts is an unpardonable criminal negligence

“Now, reports about the attacks of locusts in Khairpur, Sukkur, Sanghar, Nawabshah, and several other parts of Sindh as well as in other provinces are pouring in. Standing crops and matured fruits are being destroyed by locusts while the poor growers are looking at the ravages helplessly,” he added.

He appreciated the Sindh government for taking steps on its own, including hiring planes for aerial spray against the locusts though it was the responsibility of the federal government to conduct sprays and provide required chemicals to the provinces for sprays on the grounds.

A few days ago, opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also expressed fear that the country might face a famine-like situation if the federal government did not take immediate action to eliminate the locusts destroying crops on a massive and unprecedented scale in the country, particularly in south Punjab.

PML-N Punjab secretary general Sardar Awais Leghari said the south Punjab region was witnessing a full-scale locust attack and the government was not taking the required action.

Mr Leghari declared that the locust attack in areas of south Punjab was more dangerous and serious than the coronavirus pandemic.

He said the federal government, which had once announced to create a new province in south Punjab, had completely ignored the region.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations in a recent report warned of a potentially serious food security crisis this year in several regional countries, including Pakistan, due to the locust attacks.

On the other hand, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lt Gen Mohammad Afzal on Tuesday said operations against locusts had already been underway while the NDMA was working to devise a comprehensive plan to deal with possible flooding this year.

He said the plan would be shared with relevant authorities and the public by the second week of June.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2020