Members in Assembly 371 Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif | Governor Rafique Rajwana | |
 | ||
Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan | ||
The Government of Punjab (Urdu: حکومتِ پنجاب), a provincial government in the federal structure of Pakistan, is based in Lahore, the capital of the Punjab Province.
Contents
The Punjab or Panjab province of Pakistan is the country's most populous region and is home to the Punjabis and various other groups. Neighbouring areas are Sindh to the south, Balochistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas to the west, the Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa (formerly North West Frontier Province (NWFP)), Azad Kashmir, Indian controlled Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and Islamabad to the north, and Indian Punjab and Rajasthan to the east. The main languages are Punjabi and Urdu and the provincial capital is Lahore. The name Punjab literally translates from Persian into the words 'Panj' (پانج) five, and 'Aab' (آب) water respectively, which can be translated as "five water" (hence the poetic name land of the five rivers), referring to the Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Chenab and Jhelum rivers. Part of the Indus river also lies in Punjab, but it is not considered one of the "five" rivers.
Personnel
Departments
There are 48 departments in Punjab government. Each Department is headed by a Provincial Minister (Politician) and a Provincial Secretary (A civil servant of usually BPS-20 or BPS-21). All Ministers report to the Chief Minister, who is the Chief Executive. All Secretaries report to the Chief Secretary of Punjab, who is usually a BPS-22 Civil Servant. The Chief Secretary in turn reports to the Chief Minister. In addition to these departments, there are several Autonomous Bodies and Attached Departments that report directly to either the Secretaries or the Chief Secretary.
Legislature
The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab (Punjab Assembly) is a unicameral legislature with 297 elected Members and 74 reserved seats.