Urdu Report Desk
Pakistan on Wednesday appointed retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood as the first Secretary General of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
The Foreign Ministry said Mahmood, who holds the Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military), will lead the alliance’s General Secretariat, which is being established in Riyadh.
Makkah Defence Agreement
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7, 2026. The agreement provides that an armed attack against any one of the three signatories will be considered an attack against all three.
The agreement is aimed at strengthening defence cooperation and collective deterrence among the three countries. Its institutional framework was further developed at an inaugural meeting in Istanbul on August 31, where Pakistan was selected to head the Riyadh-based secretariat.
The first Secretary General is to be from Pakistan for an initial three-year period, according to decisions taken during the alliance’s institutional meetings.
Nauman Mahmood’s Military Career
Nauman Mahmood served as president of the National Defence University in Islamabad from November 2021 to April 2023.
His previous military assignments included senior command and staff positions, including service in Pakistan’s northwestern areas affected by militancy. He also commanded a major army corps and served as president of the National Defence University.
Regional Security Situation
Mahmood’s appointment comes amid heightened regional tensions and continuing attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement against Saudi Arabia.
A Saudi-led coalition has said it intercepted a drone approaching restricted airspace near Makkah, where Islam’s holiest site is located. The Houthis have denied targeting the city.
The renewed Saudi-Houthi confrontation is taking place against the backdrop of the wider regional conflict. Houthi advances along parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coast around the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait have also raised concerns over shipping and energy supplies.
Pakistan’s Commitment to Saudi Arabia
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a message marking Saudi Arabia’s National Day on Wednesday, condemned the recent Houthi attacks and reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty, security and the sanctity of Islam’s holy sites.
Sharif described the relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as an increasingly strong strategic partnership and referred to the two countries’ defence agreements.
He did not announce any new military deployment or say whether Riyadh had requested military assistance from Islamabad.
The prime minister’s remarks followed a meeting at the United Nations on Tuesday in which the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Türkiye and Egypt expressed support for Saudi Arabia’s right to self-defence under international law while calling for a diplomatic resolution to the wider regional crisis.
