ISLAMABAD: In a dramatic and fiery move, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday suspended the heads of two key agricultural research bodies, following a damning failure to tackle country’s crisis in cotton production – a major blow to the nation’s agricultural economy.
Sources within the Ministry of Food Security and Research told Business Recorder that Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali, chairman of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), and Dr Yusuf Zafar, vice president of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC), have been axed from their top positions.
The scandalous decision comes after both organizations were accused of failing to produce any meaningful research on cotton, despite Pakistan’s once-thriving cotton industry being in freefall for nearly a decade.
PCGA report reveals sharp decline in cotton production
The action by the prime minister, according to sources were followed after a series of complaints regarding the lack of innovation in combating the decline of cotton production, with many questioning why no new cotton varieties were developed to battle the looming impacts of climate change.
They said that over the past 10 years, both PARC and PCCC have been sitting on their hands as the country’s cotton output plummeted from 14 million bales in 2012-13 to a pitiful 5 million bales in the current fiscal year, 2024-25 – a staggering decline that has left the agricultural sector reeling.
The prime minister’s frustration, they added, grew after numerous complaints flooded in about the failure to address the growing crisis.
“It’s an embarrassment,” said a senior PARC official who declined to be named. “For a nation that once prided itself on being one of the world’s top cotton producers, to see this level of neglect is unforgivable.”
The final straw came when the prime minister discovered that no research had been conducted on cotton for the last decade, with PARC allegedly being blocked from taking any action.
Meanwhile, PCCC also failed to carry out essential research due to the absence of a cotton cess – a key funding mechanism.
At the same time, the Prime Minister’s Office received several urgent complaints about the lack of new cotton varieties to fight climate change – a major factor that’s decimating crops across the country.
The PM’s Office, the sources added, was flooded with angry calls from the agricultural community, demanding immediate reforms to fix the mess.
In a final attempt to address the escalating crisis, a high-level meeting was called chaired by no other than Prime Minister Sharif – but sources revealed that the gathering ended in disarray with no action plan for tackling the cotton debacle.
With the future of country’s cotton industry hanging in the balance, all eyes are now on the prime minister’s next move.
Will these high-profile sackings be the wake-up call needed to save country’s cotton sector from total collapse? Or is this just another example of political posturing in the face of a looming national disaster? One thing is clear – the clock is ticking, and the pressure is mounting for a solution.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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