File photo: AFP

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday urged a coordinated national response of federal and provincial governments and organizations to cope with locust attack to ensure food safety, the Prime Minister Office said.

While visiting the National Locust Control Center in Islamabad to review the locust situation, Khan said locust attack in parts of the country combined with COVID-19 has become a huge challenge for Pakistan, according to a statement released by the office.

The prime minister was briefed about the efforts being made for monitoring, survey and control, inter-organizational coordination, resource allocation and mobilization and awareness campaign for locust control in the country.

Khan said his government will undertake every possible effort for locust control since it involves food security of the country, according to the statement.

Due to the trans-boundary nature of locust swarm movement, Pakistan has maintained close liaison with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and affected countries in the region to take timely pre-emptive measures, the statement said.

At a briefing to the diplomatic community in Islamabad, Pakistan had called for regional and international cooperation to combat desert locusts in Pakistan and beyond, the country's foreign ministry said late Thursday.

The Pakistani government earlier this year declared national emergency over locust swarms after the pest destroyed large quantities of crops across the country.