Lt Gen (retd) Nauman Mahmood named first Makkah defence pact secretary general

Pakistan has appointed retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood, Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military), as the first secretary general under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA), the Foreign Office said Wednesday.

The secretary general will lead the General Secretariat of the alliance, which is being established in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, according to the official announcement.

The appointment marks another step toward institutionalising the trilateral defence framework established by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.

The three countries signed the agreement at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah on Aug. 7, 2026, during the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Under the agreement, an armed attack against any one of the three member states will be considered an attack against all three. The accord also calls for enhanced defence cooperation and collective deterrence among the participating countries.

Pakistan has maintained that the Makkah Accord is defensive in nature, is not directed against any country and is consistent with the right to individual and collective self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

The three countries moved to establish the alliance's institutional structure during the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee in Istanbul on Aug. 31. Foreign and defence ministers and senior military officials from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye attended the meeting.

The meeting decided to establish a General Secretariat in Saudi Arabia and agreed that Pakistan would provide the first secretary general for a three-year term. The three countries also agreed to strengthen joint activities, defence industry cooperation and technology development and production.

Nauman Mahmood is a former senior Pakistan Army officer who previously served as commander of the Peshawar-based XI Corps. He later served as president of the National Defence University in Islamabad.

His appointment as the inaugural secretary general places him at the head of the new Riyadh-based secretariat responsible for supporting the alliance's work and coordinating implementation of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.