KARACHI: Authorities in Pakistan’s seaside metropolis of Karachi urged the citizens to stay calm after a massive swarm of locusts flew over different parts of the city on Monday morning.
“The relevant departments have been alerted and there is no need to panic,” Sindh’s Minister for Agriculture, Ismail Rahoon, told Arab News, adding that locusts had not damaged any crops or plants. “This has happened for the second time since the creation of Pakistan.”
The locusts first entered District Malir of the city on Sunday. The area has plenty of agricultural land where vegetables are grown for Karachi’s largest market.
On Monday morning, social media users started sharing videos from District East, Shahrah-e-Faisal, National Stadium and Bahadurabad areas of the city where armies of locusts could be seen.
“It was a very frightening scene,” Asim Ali, a resident of Malir, told Arab News. “I have never seen locusts in such large numbers.”
However, officials said there was no need to panic.
“The locusts are migrating from summer-monsoon breeding zone to the winter-spring breeding zone of Balochistan’s coastal areas,” Muhammad Tariq Khan, Department of Plant Protection, Ministry of National Food Security and Research, told Arab News.
Desert locust flies during daytime and settle at night. Such migrations do not cause any damage since such movement is not in search for food, the official said, adding: “We are monitoring the situation. The relevant desert locust control teams are ready to intervene according to the technical guidelines, if required.”
Pakistan has surveyed an area of 550,000 hectares and controlled 110,000 hectares by ground and aerial spray in Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab since March 2019.
“During this period, the locusts were confined to the desert and were not allowed to attack the cultivated area,” he informed.
Experts say desert locusts prefer sandy soil with moisture and vegetation since such habitat help them breed and multiply. In Pakistan, desert locusts have two breeding seasons and regions: the winter-spring breeding zone of Balochistan between February to June; and the summer-monsoon breeding zone of Tharparkar, Nara and Cholistan deserts between June and November.
Authorities urge calm as locusts fly over Pakistan’s megacity
Authorities urge calm as locusts fly over Pakistan’s megacity
- Officials say this is the second time locusts have entered Karachi since the creation of Pakistan
- Say the insects did not damage crops or plants
Pakistan urges UN Security Council to sanction separatist BLA group after recent attacks
- Separatist BLA launched attacks in multiple Balochistan cities last week, killing over 50 as per official figures
- Pakistan envoy says since Taliban assumed control of Afghanistan, BLA, other militant groups have a “new lease of life“
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Iftikhar Ahmed this week urged the Security Council to impose sanctions against the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) militant group and designate it as a “terrorist” group, after its recent coordinated attacks in southwestern Balochistan province.
Pakistan’s military said on Thursday it has concluded security operations in Balochistan against separatists that was launched since Jan. 29, killing 216 militants. The military launched counteroffensive operations in Balochistan after the BLA said it launched coordinated attacks in several parts of the province last Friday and Saturday.
The attacks killed 36 civilians and 22 law enforcement and security forces personnel, Pakistan’s military said. Pakistan’s government has accused India of being involved in the attacks, charges that New Delhi has dismissed.
“We hope the Council will act swiftly to designate BLA under the 1267 sanctions regime acceding to the listing request that is currently under consideration,” Iftikhar said on Wednesday during a UNSC briefing on the topic ‘Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Terrorist Acts.’
The 1267 sanctions regime is a UNSC program that seeks to impose sanctions on individuals and entities associated with “terrorism.”
The regime seeks to impose travel bans, freeze assets and impose an arms embargo on individuals and groups primarily associated with Al-Qaeda or the Taliban.
Ahmad said that after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, “externally sponsored and foreign-funded proxy terrorist groups” such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the BLA have got a “new lease of life.”
“Operating with virtual impunity from Afghan soil and with the active support of our eastern neighbor, these groups are responsible for heinous terrorist attacks inside Pakistan,” he said.
The Pakistani envoy said it has become imperative to prevent billions of dollars of sophisticated weapons and equipment, which were left behind by foreign forces in Afghanistan, “from falling into the hands of terrorists.”
“There must be accountability of external destabilizing actors who support, finance and arm these groups, including their proxies in Afghanistan,” Ahmad said in a veiled reference to India.
Pakistan’s largest and poorest province, mineral-rich Balochistan borders Iran and Afghanistan and is home to China’s investment in the Gwadar deep-water port and other projects.
Balochistan has been the site of a decades-long insurgency led by ethnic Baloch separatists seeking greater autonomy and a larger share of its natural resources.
They accuse the state of denying locals a fair share of the province’s mineral wealth, charges that are denied by the Pakistani government.
