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Federal Secretary

The federal secretary (also referred to as the secretary to the Government of Pakistan) is the highest-ranking position in the Government of Pakistan, occupied by the most senior civil servant in a specific ministry or division. The secretary is the administrative head of that ministry or division and oversees and enforces public policy matters. The authority for the creation of this post solely rests with the Cabinet of Pakistan. The position holder is a BPS-22 grade officer, usually belonging to the Pakistan Administrative Service.

All promotions and appointments to this rank and post are directly made by the prime minister of Pakistan. The post of federal secretary is equivalent to that of chief secretary of a provincial government (within their respective provinces) and to the rank of General in the Pakistan Army, Air Marshal in the Pakistan Air Force, and Admiral in the Pakistan Navy.

Due to the importance of their respective assignments, there are twelve specific federal secretaries which are considered to be the most vital in the Government of Pakistan. These include the establishment secretary (responsible for civil service matters), finance secretary (responsible for the country's treasury), secretary to the prime minister (responsible for Prime Minister's Office), cabinet secretary (responsible for the Cabinet Division), interior secretary (responsible for law and order), commerce secretary (responsible for trade), foreign secretary (responsible for foreign relations), maritime secretary (responsible for ports and shipping), power secretary (responsible for the electricity and power sector), planning and development secretary (responsible for development projects), petroleum secretary (responsible for the petroleum sector), and industry secretary (responsible for industrial development).

Powers and responsibilities

The federal secretary is the administrative head of the ministry or division, and oversees all matters of policy and administration within the ministry or /division.

The role of secretary is as follows:

To act as the administrative head of the ministry or division. The responsibility in this regard is complete and undivided.
To act as the chief adviser to the prime minister on all aspects of policy and administrative affairs.
To represent the ministry or division before the Standing Committees of the Parliament.

Perception and image

The federal secretaries are the most senior and experienced officers in the country and are largely considered to be the most powerful individuals in the government. Promotion to the rank of federal secretary is regarded as a very tough task given the high level of scrutiny taken into place when the promotions are done by the High Powered Selection Board (HPSB) which is chaired by the prime minister. As the career service of federal secretaries and other bureaucrats are immune to the transition of political governments, they are seen as the real policy-makers who govern the country and serve as the spinal cord for the establishment.