ISLAMABAD - Pakistan is likely to suffer huge financial losses because of clash of interests of high-ups of Agriculture Ministry that rendered a precious cotton crop project redundant which experts believed could eliminate countrys trade deficit in coming years. Background discussions and interviews with agricultural scientists revealed that bulldozing the said project was going to cost the country approximately $10 billion annually. Had the cotton crop project that has been scrapped by the ministry continued unabated, Pakistan would have reduced current trade deficit to more than half, a source privy to these developments told TheNation requesting anonymity. Pakistans trade deficit during 2009-10 remained $15.328 billion that could almost be eliminated within next three years by using the said cottonseed project, as the project was to give boom to agricultural exports. They argued that country was importing 3-4 million bales of cotton annually worth $4-6 billion while the new seed could make country to rather export cotton. Present Head of NARC, Dr Iftikhar has criminally ploughed out this miraculous development from the fields that was going to change the fate of country on economic front, told the sources. The source told TheNation that cotton crop takes 5-7 sprays that cost more than Rs 10,000 per acre and for million acres the expense goes to around Rs100 billion that was a big loss for the pesticides companies. They said that pesticide and fertilizer companies might have invested to eliminate the project. Dr Zafar Altaf the former Chairman of PARC started the said project and handed it over to Dr Zar Quresh who volunteered himself for the country. Dr Zar and his team struggled day and night for the whole two years and developed hybrid cotton seed that otherwise could have take more than 10 years. Hybrid cottonseed was in multiplication stage and for 0.35 million acres it was going to be developed to be cultivated in the country. The seed had the quality of no need for pesticide spray and it could give two crops in an year as compared to other imported hybrid seeds those give one crop in one year. Miraculously it could also be cultivated in Pothohar region. Presently Dr Afzal is the Acting Chairman of PARC and he is known as a weak person whereas DG NARC wants to become chairman. The sources said that now when farmers demand the seed from NARC management, they replied that there is no seed available. A concerned scientist said: The new management in a sense killing the baby before birth. DG has threatened us of consequences if we refuse to cooperate in his anti-state decisions, told the sources. Where to go for justice as we can see that Minister has a hand on DG NARC, they asked. Where is President Asif Ali Zardari now who was also showing great interest in the project and now when it has been ruined there is no body to secure this very precious research development, they further said. Giving more details, the sources said that the country import 3-4 million bales of cotton every year that takes billions of dollars of foreign exchange reserve of the country. If the said development was used it could save precious foreign exchequer and could put the country in a position to export cotton worth of $10 billion. When contacted Acting Chairman of PAC Dr Afzal, he denied the situation and said that the fields were to be ploughed out as per the process and the earlier management was going the wrong way as per formulas. Dr Afzal also scrapped the theory that Dr Zar did some thing for the country and said that he was just a consultant. Tried to contact Dr Iftikhar many times, also left messages on his mobile but he didnt pick up the phone. Dr Zafar on the other side when contacted said that he could prove that their formula was right and they had developed the seed and that was very visible in the fields but those who ploughed it out are the enemies of the country and were going to huge loss to the Pakistani nation. He said that they were going to provide seed for 0.8 million acres after a little time. He also said that Dr Zar was taking no money from NARC and it is proved that he was doing all the work voluntarily just for the country and said development belongs to him.