Islamabad, September 23, 2026: The Foreign Office on Wednesday announced the appointment of Lieutenant General (retired) Nauman Mahmood as the first secretary general of the Makkah Defence Alliance between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
“The government of Pakistan is pleased to announce the appointment of Lt Gen Nauman Mahmood, Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military), (retired), as the first secretary general pursuant to the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
The secretary general will head the alliance’s general secretariat, which is being established in Riyadh.
The defence agreement was signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye on August 7. Under the agreement, an attack against one member is to be treated as an attack against all three.
The alliance held its inaugural meeting in Istanbul on August 31, where representatives of the three countries discussed establishing its institutional structure. Pakistan was selected to head the secretariat in Riyadh.
Under decisions reached at the meeting, the secretariat will be headed by a secretary general from Pakistan for an initial three-year term.
The three countries also agreed to further institutionalise their defence cooperation to strengthen solidarity, enhance the credibility and effectiveness of collective deterrence and defence, and contribute to regional cooperative security and efforts towards a just, inclusive and lasting peace.
Since the agreement was signed, there has been discussion about the possibility of expanding the alliance to other countries. Türkiye had initially suggested the possibility of Egypt joining, although Cairo has not confirmed any such move.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar have described the agreement as defensive in nature. Dar also said the alliance was open to countries in the region willing to uphold its fundamental principles.
However, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said on September 10 that expansion was not under consideration at that stage. He said the three members first needed to consolidate the new organisation before considering its expansion to other states with similar security requirements.
Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry also said last week that the alliance had no “regional aspirations” and was intended to serve the purpose of collective deterrence.
Against the backdrop of the expanding US-Iran conflict and attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia, the ISPR chief said Pakistan would go to “any extent” to defend Saudi Arabia and described Islamabad’s commitment to the Kingdom’s security as “unconditional.”
