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Sikandar Sultan Raja
Sikandar Sultan Raja is a retired Pakistani civil servant who is the current Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan since January 2020 till date. He is the son-in-law of the former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Pakistan and Chief Secretary Sindh Saeed Mehdi. As a civil servant, Raja belonged to the Pakistan Administrative Service.
Raja retired from civil service in BPS-22 grade in 2019, having worked in senior bureaucratic positions such as the Railways Secretary, Petroleum Secretary, SAFRON Secretary, Federal Secretary Aviation and Chief Secretary of both Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Raja was appointed as the chief election commissioner by President Arif Alvi in January 2020. His tenure as chief election commissioner ended in 8 January 2025, however he has continued to server the position as a caretaker, until the appointment of his successor.
Raja is also related to Amir Ali Ahmad, Chief Commissioner Islamabad, Zohaib Ranjha former SP Investigation (Lahore), Muhammad Ali former DC Faisalabad, SSP Sarfraz Virk former DPO Jhang and SP Bilal Zafar former DPO Chiniot.[citation needed] Raja is the son-in-law of Saeed Mehdi; a former top bureaucrat who served as Principal Secretary to PM Nawaz Sharif.[citation needed] Raja's wife, Rabab Sikandar, is a serving Customs official who was promoted to the post of Chief Collector Customs in 2022.
Raja was born in a village near Bhera in district Sargodha. He got his earlier education from government school Bhera after which he joined Cadet College Hasan Abdal where he completed FSc. Post high-school, he got admission to Nishtar Medical College, Multan, where he studied for four years. In the final year of MBBS, he migrated to King Edward Medical College and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Medicine. He also did LLB from Punjab University Law College. He was then inducted into the Pakistan Administrative Service; his first post was Assistant Commissioner Islamabad in 1989.
Raja has been Deputy Commissioner Islamabad and Punjab's provincial Secretary of Communications & Works (C&W), Services and General Administration (S&GAD), and Local Government before briefly serving as ACS (G) in Punjab. He has also served as Chief Secretary for the provinces of Gilgit Baltistan as well as Azad Jammu Kashmir. He remained as Director General Immigration and Passport under the administration of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Raja was promoted to the rank of Federal Secretary in 2017. He was Secretary Petroleum from April 2017 till August 2018. In November 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan appointed Raja as the Railways Secretary of Pakistan and Chairman Pakistan Railways. He served as Railways Secretary and Chairman Pakistan Railways until December 2019.
In January 2020, Imran Khan appointed him to the post of Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan (CEC) on the recommendation of Sheikh Rasheed, and then army chief, Qamar Bajwa. He is the first career bureaucrat to be appointed to the role of CEC, after a relevant amendment was made in Election Act (2017). Conventionally, this post has been held by judges of the country's superior judiciary since the passage of the 1973 constitution.
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Sikandar Sultan Raja
Sikandar Sultan Raja is a retired Pakistani civil servant who is the current Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan since January 2020 till date. He is the son-in-law of the former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Pakistan and Chief Secretary Sindh Saeed Mehdi. As a civil servant, Raja belonged to the Pakistan Administrative Service.
Raja retired from civil service in BPS-22 grade in 2019, having worked in senior bureaucratic positions such as the Railways Secretary, Petroleum Secretary, SAFRON Secretary, Federal Secretary Aviation and Chief Secretary of both Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Raja was appointed as the chief election commissioner by President Arif Alvi in January 2020. His tenure as chief election commissioner ended in 8 January 2025, however he has continued to server the position as a caretaker, until the appointment of his successor.
Raja is also related to Amir Ali Ahmad, Chief Commissioner Islamabad, Zohaib Ranjha former SP Investigation (Lahore), Muhammad Ali former DC Faisalabad, SSP Sarfraz Virk former DPO Jhang and SP Bilal Zafar former DPO Chiniot.[citation needed] Raja is the son-in-law of Saeed Mehdi; a former top bureaucrat who served as Principal Secretary to PM Nawaz Sharif.[citation needed] Raja's wife, Rabab Sikandar, is a serving Customs official who was promoted to the post of Chief Collector Customs in 2022.
Raja was born in a village near Bhera in district Sargodha. He got his earlier education from government school Bhera after which he joined Cadet College Hasan Abdal where he completed FSc. Post high-school, he got admission to Nishtar Medical College, Multan, where he studied for four years. In the final year of MBBS, he migrated to King Edward Medical College and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Medicine. He also did LLB from Punjab University Law College. He was then inducted into the Pakistan Administrative Service; his first post was Assistant Commissioner Islamabad in 1989.
Raja has been Deputy Commissioner Islamabad and Punjab's provincial Secretary of Communications & Works (C&W), Services and General Administration (S&GAD), and Local Government before briefly serving as ACS (G) in Punjab. He has also served as Chief Secretary for the provinces of Gilgit Baltistan as well as Azad Jammu Kashmir. He remained as Director General Immigration and Passport under the administration of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Raja was promoted to the rank of Federal Secretary in 2017. He was Secretary Petroleum from April 2017 till August 2018. In November 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan appointed Raja as the Railways Secretary of Pakistan and Chairman Pakistan Railways. He served as Railways Secretary and Chairman Pakistan Railways until December 2019.
In January 2020, Imran Khan appointed him to the post of Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan (CEC) on the recommendation of Sheikh Rasheed, and then army chief, Qamar Bajwa. He is the first career bureaucrat to be appointed to the role of CEC, after a relevant amendment was made in Election Act (2017). Conventionally, this post has been held by judges of the country's superior judiciary since the passage of the 1973 constitution.