Mrs. Irum Bukhari is a bureaucrat in Grade 21 from Pakistan Administrative Service. During a career spanning over 27 years, she has demonstrated her expertise and proficiency at the operational, strategic and policy levels at various positions in District Administration, Provincial and Federal Government, and Autonomous Organizations. A trailblazer within public sector since early 90s, she holds the distinction of being the first female Assistant Commissioner and Sub Divisional Magistrate of Saddar sub division at Lahore, the first female Additional District Magistrate of Dera Ghazi Khan and the first female Additional Commissioner of Bahawalpur. Under the new governance set up introduced in 2001, she became Pakistan’s first female Executive District Officer (Revenue) exercising powers of Commissioner and set the unique record of serving as the first female EDO Revenue of three districts successively, including Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan where she further set records of highest revenue recovery.

Irum served as District Coordination Officer, Dera Ghazi Khan and made history as the only female officer of the country who has commanded the Baluch Levy, a Para Military Force in a Provincially Administered Tribal Area. She further holds the honour of being the only female civil servant to have commanded the Border Military Police.

After performing her duties as Chief Executive Officer of Child Protection and Welfare Bureau Punjab, Irum Bukhari was assigned the task of establishing a new administrative department for women in the province. Consequently, she served for more than three years as the founding Secretary of Women Development Department Punjab. During this period, she established Punjab Commission on the Status of Women, the Office of Ombudsperson for dealing with workplace harassment and the Punjab Day Care Fund. Irum Bukhari is acknowledged as the motivational force behind numerous legislative amendments and procedural changes introduced by the Govt. of Punjab for gender equality and socio economic empowerment of women. She represented Pakistan at the United Nations CSW Session at New York in 2014 and has been conducting sessions on gender for under training judges at the Punjab Judicial Academy. In April 2019, she was invited to speak as the sole representative of Pakistan at the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development held by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia at Beirut, Lebanon.

Irum has served as Secretary to Government of the Punjab in Industries and Higher Education Departments. In the Federal Government, she was posted as faculty member in the National School of Public Policy and led an all-male official delegation to Nigeria. She has also performed duties as Director General in the office of Federal Ombudsman.

Currently, she is serving for the second time as Secretary Women Development Punjab.