The appointment of the chief secretary is made directly by the prime minister of Pakistan.

The position of chief secretary is equivalent to the rank of federal secretary and the position holder usually 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.

[2] The following table lists down the names of chief secretaries that have remained in office since December 2003.