The Director General is the chief accounting officer of the Academy and the Secretary to its Board of Governors. He/she reports to the Chairperson to fulfill statutory obligations and supervises overall administration of the Academy.
Mr. Ahmed Faraz was appointed as Project Director in 1976. Those who have been serving on the post of Director General of Pakistan Academy of Letters include Mr. Masihuddin Ahmed Siddiqui (1978-1984), Mr. Ghulam Rabbani Agro (1984-1990), Mr. Iftikhar Arif (1991-1995), Mr. Mazhar ul Islam (1995-1998), Mr. Salim Akhtar Kiyani (1998-1999), Mr. Khalid Iqbal Yasir (1999-2000), Mr. Mola Bakhsh Lund (2000-2002), Mr. Gulzar Ahmed (2002-2005), Mr. Mohammad Anwar Khan (2005-2008), Mr. Atiq ur Rehman (acting 2008), Mr. Zaheer ud din Malik (acting 2008-2009), Mr. Khalid Iqbal Yasir (2009), Dr. Rashid Hameed (acting 2009-2010), Dr. Abdal Bela (2010-2011), Ms. Ghayoor Sultana (acting 2012), Mr. Zaheer ud din Malik (acting 2012-2013), Mr. Nadeem Iqbal Abbasi (acting 2014), Mr. Nazir Ahmad (acting 2014), Ms. Zahida Parveen (2014-2015), Dr. Rashid Hameed (2015- 2019), and Syeda Shafaq Hashmi (acting 2023). Mr. Sultan Muhammad Nawaz Nasir is the current Director General of the Academy, who assumed charge of the post in November, 2023.