Transfers, postings in police dept: Supreme Court seeks report from federal, provincial govts

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a comprehensive report from the federal and provincial governments pertaining to postings and transfers in the police department through political intervention.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Ayesha A Malik, heard the case on political intervention in postings and transfers of officials in the Punjab Police.

The court, on the request of the petitioner, while expanding the scope of the matter to the Federation and other provinces, sought a detailed report from the federal and provincial governments on the political interference in connection with postings and transfers in the police department.

The court sought the complete record with regard to postings and transfers in the police departments during the past eight years and directed the federal and provincial government to submit reports within two weeks and adjourned the matter

During the course of hearing, the counsel for the petitioner informed the court that postings and transfers in the Punjab province were made on the basis of political interference. He submitted that recently, the DPO Layyah was also made through political interference which sparked criticism, adding that when the issue was highlighted in the media, the said female officer had to relinquish the charge.

Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial observed that the continuous postings and transfers in the police greatly affect the police command as well as performance of diligent officers.

The chief justice further observed that as per data, the average term of a District Police Officer (DPO) in Punjab is five months; in the past four years, some 268 DPOs in Punjab were transferred The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the average term of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in the province of Punjab is six months while legally, the post should be continued for three years.

Justice Ayesha A Malik asked the petitioner’s counsel from where he got these details. The counsel replied that he got the details from the CP office. During the hearing, the chief justice observed that the former IGP Islamabad was a well-educated and decent officer, who had handled the matter pertaining to attack on the Sindh House thoroughly in a professional manner, however, he was also transferred .

Meanwhile, the court adjourned the matter for two weeks after seeking detailed record from the federal and provincial governments on postings and transfers in the police department.