MINISTER for Food and Agriculture Mohammad Gondal has asked “the US investors to focus their investments in our agriculture sector” (July 31). It shows his concern in the upliftment of our agriculture, growth in which is stagnant. His concern is appreciable.

In this connection, it may also be pointed out that the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) belongs to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Minister Gondal himself is its president.

However, the PCCC also needs his attention as its cotton research programmes are suffering due to being housed in rented buildings, since its own majestic building that stood on M. T. Khan Road, Karachi, was released by the KPT to the US Consulate, Karachi, for its relocation about six years ago. The displacement of PCCC from its location on M. T. Khan Road, Karachi, is proving disastrous.

The minister is humbly requested to kindly see what is stopping the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee from having a new building of its own, when the land and the required budget are available to the PCCC.

If the PCCC gets a spacious building of its own, it can carry on with its research activities much more conveniently than it does now. Cotton is an important crop of the country and its research has to go on satisfactorily without any impediment. Cotton research in Pakistan is as necessary as it is for other crops. M. SHAFIQUE AHMED Karachi