Pakistan’s Foreign Office announced on September 23, 2026 that retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood has been appointed the first secretary-general of the Makkah Defence Alliance, the trilateral defence pact linking Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. The former three-star officer will lead the alliance’s General Secretariat, which is being established in Riyadh, for an initial three-year term. The appointment is the most significant institutional step yet in turning the August defence agreement into a functioning organization.
Key Facts
- Appointed: Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood (retd), Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)
- Post: first secretary-general of the Makkah Defence Alliance
- Term: three years
- Secretariat: General Secretariat of the alliance, being established in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Announced: September 23, 2026, by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Member states: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye
- Pact signed: August 7, 2026, in Makkah
Appointment announced in Islamabad
According to the Foreign Office handout, the Government of Pakistan is pleased to announce the appointment of Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood, Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military), retired, as the first secretary-general pursuant to the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, which was later renamed the Makkah Defence Alliance. The statement said the secretary-general will lead the alliance’s General Secretariat being established in Riyadh.
The decision followed the inaugural meeting of the alliance’s Strategic Political and Defence Committee (S-PDC) in Istanbul on August 31, 2026, where Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye agreed to set up a permanent secretariat in Saudi Arabia, headed initially by a secretary-general from Pakistan for a three-year term. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had confirmed earlier that the first secretary-general would be Pakistani.
What the Makkah Defence Alliance secretariat will do
The General Secretariat will serve as the central coordinating body of the alliance’s defence cooperation, charged with implementing the pact through joint military activities, improved interoperability and defence-industry collaboration. Its creation gives the trilateral framework a permanent institutional home after two high-level meetings.
Officials of the three countries have stressed that the alliance is defensive in nature and is not directed against any nation, describing it as a general pledge to support the security of the three allies.
Background: the Makkah pact
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7, 2026, in Makkah. The pact stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against all three, while providing for deeper cooperation in defence capabilities, defence-industry collaboration and joint technology development and production.
The inaugural S-PDC meeting in Istanbul on August 31 brought together Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir from Pakistan, Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of General Staff Selcuk Bayraktaroglu. Fidan has said Türkiye expects Egypt to join the pact in a next stage, with only technical issues to be resolved. More background is available on the Watan News world news page.
Who is Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood?
A Baloch Regiment officer commissioned in 1987, Nauman Mahmood rose to lieutenant general in 2019. During his career he commanded an infantry division in North Waziristan, served as director general of analysis at the Inter-Services Intelligence with responsibility for national security and foreign policy analysis, commanded XI Corps in Peshawar and headed the National Defence University. He was awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) for distinguished service.
Conclusion
The appointment of Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood as the first secretary-general of the Makkah Defence Alliance marks the pact’s transition from declaration to institution. With a permanent secretariat in Riyadh and a defined three-year mandate, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye have given their collective-defence framework an operational core — and the alliance’s future expansion remains on the table.
