| Chief Secretary of Punjab | |
|---|---|
| مُعْتَمَدِ اعلٰی پنجاب Muʿtamad-ē-Aʿlā Panjāb | |
 | |
 | |
Incumbent since 24 January 2023Zahid Akhtar Zaman | |
| Administrative branch of the Government of Punjab | |
| Style | Officer |
| Type | Chief bureaucratic officer |
| Abbreviation | CS |
| Member of | Cabinet of Punjab (as secretary) |
| Reports to | Chief Minister of Punjab |
| Residence | Punjab Civil Secretariat |
| Seat | Lahore |
| Nominator | Establishment Division |
| Appointer | Prime Minister of Pakistan |
| Term length |
|
| Precursor | Secretary to the Government of British Punjab |
| Inaugural holder | Akhter Husain |
| Formation | 15 August 1947 (1947-08-15) |
| Website | Government of Punjab |
The chief secretary of Punjab (Punjabi/Urdu: مُعْتَمَدِ اعلٰی پنجاب, romanized: Muʿtamad-ē-Aʿlā Panjāb) is the bureaucratic chief and highest-ranking administrative official of the Pakistani province of Punjab. Appointed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan in consultation with the government of Punjab, the chief secretary reports to the chief minister of Punjab and is part of their cabinet as a secretary. The position is equivalent to that of the federal secretary, and the officeholder belongs to the Pakistan Administrative Service.[1]
The chief secretary is the province's administrative boss as all the divisional commissioners and administrative secretaries of the province report to him/her. The CS in return reports to the chief minister of Punjab, however the chief secretary is not under the charge of the chief minister as only the prime minister can appoint or remove the CS from his position. The chief secretary also serves as the chief advisor to the chief minister and as secretary to the provincial Cabinet.[2]
List of chief secretaries
The following table lists down the names of chief secretaries that have remained in office since December 2003.
| No. | Name of Chief Secretary | Entered office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kamran Rasool | December 2003 | October 2005 |
| 2 | Salman Siddique | October 2005 | March 2008 |
| 3 | Javed Mehmood | March 2008 | February 2009 |
| 4 | Najibullah Malik | February 2009 | April 2009 |
| 5 | Javed Mehmood | April 2009 | February 2010 |
| 6 | Nasir Mahmood Khosa | February 2010 | April 2013 |
| 7 | Javed Iqbal | April 2013 | October 2013 |
| 8 | Naveed Akram Cheema | October 2013 | January 2015 |
| 9 | Khizar Hayat Gondal | January 2015 | April 2016 |
| 10 | Capt (Rtd) Zahid Saeed | April 2016 | June 2018 |
| 11 | Akbar Hussain Durrani | June 2018 | October 2018 |
| 12 | Yousuf Naseem Khokhar | October 2018 | November 2019 |
| 13 | Maj (Rtd) Azam Suleman Khan | November 2019 | April 2020 |
| 14 | Jawad Rafique Malik | April 2020 | September 2021 |
| 15 | Kamran Ali Afzal[3] | September 2021 | September 2022 |
| 16 | Abdullah Khan Sumbal | September 2022 | January 2023 |
| 17 | Zahid Akhtar Zaman | January 2023 | Incumbent |
See also
References
- "Provincial Departments - Punjab Portal". www.punjab.gov.pk.
- "Several bureaucrats in race to become CS". www.thenews.com.pk.
- "Federal cabinet appoints Kamran Ali Afzal as Punjab chief secretary, Sardar Ali Khan as Punjab IGP". Dawn (newspaper). 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.