Top court seeks eight-year record of transfers, postings in police within two weeks.

ISLAMABAD -- The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday directed the federal and Punjab governments to submit replies in two weeks regarding political interference in the transfer of police officials. A three-member SC bench comprising Chief Justice umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ayesha A Malik and Justice Athar Minallah heard the case regarding political intrusion in the transfers and postings of police personnel in the Punjab province. During the course of proceedings, the court expanded the scope of the case to the federation and other provinces at the request of the petitioner. The bench directed the federation and provinces to submit records of transfer postings in the police department over the past eight years in two weeks. The petitioner's counsel said that transfers of police officers were due to political interference and influence, which was a matter of public importance and fundamental rights. The Chief Justice said that the continuous transfer of police officers made a difference to police command and performance. he said that recently, the district police officer (DPO) of Layyah was transferred from the chief minister's house due to the interference of local politicians, and the event made headlines.The Chief Justice said that he had not seen the headlines pertaining to this matter. The petitioner's counsel said that the DPO eventually dropped charges, despite the police's initial resistance to the transfer. he also read out data provided by the lawyer and stated that according to the data, the average term of DPO in Punjab was five...