Pakistan has appointed retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood as the first Secretary General of the Makkah Defense Alliance, with the alliance’s General Secretariat set to be established in Riyadh, the Foreign Office said Wednesday.
The appointment follows an agreement among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye to establish a secretariat headed by a Secretary General. Under a joint statement issued after the alliance’s inaugural Strategic Political and Defense Committee meeting in Istanbul on August 31, Pakistan was to provide the first Secretary General for an initial three-year-term.
The appointment also fulfills an earlier announcement by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan that the first Secretary General of the alliance would be from Pakistan. Fidan had said the secretariat would be established in Riyadh.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement in Makkah on August 7, 2026. The agreement is intended to strengthen defense cooperation and collective deterrence among the three countries. Pakistan’s Foreign Office has described the agreement as defensive in nature and said it is not directed against any country.
The alliance’s first Strategic Political and Defense Committee meeting was held in Istanbul on August 31, with senior foreign, defense and military officials from the three countries attending. The countries agreed to further institutionalize cooperation under the agreement and strengthen defense capabilities through joint activities, technology development and defense industry cooperation.
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