The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) on Friday underlined the need for creating a dedicated forum to effectively combat the imminent threat of locust through strong inter-provincial coordination.”There is a dire need to set up a forum like the NCOC, where all the key stakeholders can share information and resources to fight the locusts across the country in an effective manner,” Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said while chairing an NCOC meeting here.
Federal Minister for Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam informed the NCOC that a meeting of all the key stakeholders was recently held at his ministry to evolve a comprehensive strategy against the locust issue. All the resources were being mobilized to save the agriculture from the locust swarms. He also highlighted the technical assistance, provided by China to Pakistan in that regard. Asad Umar called for massive mobilization of all the available resources and underscored the importance for adopting the ‘TSE’ (Tracking, Spraying and Elimination) policy against the locusts. The provincial agriculture ministers, who participated in the meeting through video link, said the locusts should be contained in Balochistan to save other provinces from the menace.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Dr Zafar Mirza and Prime Minister’s Focal Person on COVID-19 Dr Faisal Sultan apprised the meeting about the overall situation of coronavirus pandemic in the country.
They also explained the reasons behind off-vent deaths of the coronavirus infected patients in the country.
Dr Zafar Mirza said home quarantine of the coronavirus positive patients had also been recommended in Punjab like other provinces. The meeting was also attended by NCOC National Coordinator Lt Gen Hamood Uz Zaman, Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Security Moeed Yusuf.