Government of Punjab, Pakistan

The Government of the Punjab (Punjabi/Urdu: حکومت پنجاب, romanized: Hukūmat-e-Panjāb) is the legal authority of the Pakistani province of Punjab, based in its capital Lahore. It has authority over its 41 districts, with powers and structure set out in the national constitution. The government is composed of three branches — legislative, executive, and judicial. The Punjab Assembly serves as the unicameral legislative authority of the province, and elects the chief minister to head the government, executive, and their appointed cabinet – which is aided by the chief secretary, who serves as the bureaucratic chief and highest-ranking administrative officer of the province. The Governor, appointed by the federal government, serves as the ceremonial head of province. The Lahore High Court, headed by its Chief Justice, is the highest court in the province's judiciary, having supreme appellate jurisdiction over all provincial cases.

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.