Government of Punjab, Pakistan

Government of the Punjab

Provincial Government Seal
Provincial Government Flag
Seat of government	Lahore
Legislature
Assembly	Punjab Assembly
Speaker	Malik Ahmad Khan
Members	371
Executive
Governor	Sardar Saleem Haider Khan
Chief Secretary	Zahid Akhtar Zaman[1]
Chief Minister	Maryam Nawaz
Judiciary
High Court	Lahore High Court
Chief justice of High Court	Malik Shehzad Ahmed Khan
Website	www.punjab.gov.pk

The Government of the Punjab (Punjabi, Urdu: حکومت پنجاب) is the provincial government of the Pakistani province of the Punjab. It is based in Lahore, the provincial capital. Its powers and structure are set out in the provisions of the Constitution, in which 41 districts come under its authority and jurisdiction. The government includes the cabinet, selected from members the Punjab Provincial Assembly, and the non-political civil staff within each department. The province is governed by a unicameral legislature with the head of government known as the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister, invariably the leader of a political party represented in the Assembly, selects members of the Cabinet. The Chief Minister and Cabinet are thus responsible for the functioning of government and are entitled to remain in office so long as it maintains the confidence of the elected Assembly. The head of the province is known as the Governor, appointed by the federal government, on behalf of the President. The administrative and executive boss of the province is the Chief Secretary Punjab and they head all the provincial departments and the provincial cabinet.

The Punjab province is the country's most populous region and is home to the Punjabis and various other groups. Neighbouring provinces of Pakistan are Sindh to the south, Balochistan to the south-west and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the north-west, as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir to the north and Islamabad Capital Territory to the north-west. It also shares International border with Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east and Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir to the north. 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.