Federal Secretary

The Federal Secretary (also referred to as the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan) is a post and rank in 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.

The post of the Secretary, however, is an ex-cadre post, hence, anyone can occupy it, but the office-bearers generally are from the Central Superior Services. All promotions and appointments to this rank and post are directly made by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The post is equivalent to that of Chief Secretary of a provincial Government (within their respective provinces) and to the rank of Lieutenant General in Pakistan Army, Air Marshal in Pakistan Air Force and Vice Admiral in Pakistan Navy.

The Federal Secretary is the administrative head of the Ministry or Division, and is the principal adviser to the Minister on all matters of policy and administration within the Ministry/Division.

The role of Secretary is as follows:

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, especially the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Cabinet Secretary of Pakistan and Establishment Secretary of Pakistan who work in close coordination with the Prime Minister. 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.

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Wikipedia