• Secretariat in Riyadh will provide institutional framework for coordination among Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye
• PM reaffirms unwavering support for kingdom
ISLAMABAD: Marking a major step towards establishing the secretariat of the trilateral security arrangement with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, Pakistan named a former corps commander and ex-president of National Defence University as the first secretary general of the newly-formed Makkah Defence Alliance on Wednesday.
The Foreign Office stated: “The Government of Pakistan is pleased to announce the appointment of retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood, Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) as the first Secretary General pursuant to Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA). The Secretary General will lead the General Secretariat of the Alliance being established at Riyadh.”
The appointment coincided with Saudi National Day, with Islamabad also reaffirming its support for the kingdom amid renewed fighting between Saudi-backed Yemeni forces and Yemen’s Ansar Allah group and a series of attacks on Saudi territory by the group.
In his message on Saudi National Day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated Pakistan’s support for the kingdom, saying: “Pakistan stands unwaveringly, shoulder to shoulder, with the Kingdom in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and the sanctity of Islam’s holiest sites.”
The three countries had agreed at the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Istanbul on Aug 31 that Pakistan would provide the secretary general for the alliance’s first three-year term. The meeting had then also decided to establish the alliance’s permanent secretariat in Riyadh.
The secretariat is expected to provide the institutional framework for coordination among the three countries, including joint activities, defence and technology cooperation and implementation of the alliance’s collective defence commitments.
The appointment comes at a particularly sensitive time for Saudi Arabia, with the security situation around the kingdom deteriorating as the conflict in Yemen has intensified.
Profile
Retired Lt Gen Nauman Mahmood is assuming this role after a career in the Pakistan Army spanning field command, intelligence, strategic analysis and professional military education.
His first term puts him in the position of a “direction-setter” during the alliance’s formative years as it builds its institutional structure. An officer of the Baloch Regiment, Lt Gen Mahmood was commissioned in September 1987.
He is a graduate of the Command and Staff College, Quetta, the Command and Staff College in Egypt and the National Defence University, Islamabad, and holds a master’s degree in War Studies.
A substantial part of his career was spent at the Command and Staff College, where he served in different instructional capacities before becoming chief instructor. The posting not only gave him extensive experience in training officers but also exposed him to military strategy and operational planning.
As major general, he commanded an infantry division in North Waziristan, where the army had been engaged in counterterrorism operations for several years. His next assignment took him from the battlefield to the intelligence community when he was appointed director general of the Analysis Directorate at Inter-Services Intelligence.
At the ISI, his work involved assessing developments abroad from a national security perspective, making the assignment particularly relevant to Pakistan’s foreign policy and strategic decision making. The position also brought him into contact with foreign intelligence agencies as part of the ISI’s external liaison.
He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in April 2019 and appointed inspector general of Communications and Information Technology at General Headquarters. Later in December, he moved to Peshawar to take command of XI Corps.
His tenure as corps commander coincided with one of the most sensitive periods along Pakistan’s western border. The US was preparing to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, while Pakistan was pressing ahead with the fencing of the frontier and dealing with the security fallout from the rapidly changing situation across the border.
Gen Mahmood relinquished command of XI Corps in November 2021 and was subsequently appointed president of the National Defence University in Islamabad, becoming the 35th head of the institution. He remained in the post until his retirement from Pakistan Army in April 2023.
His immediate task in Riyadh would be to help build the institutional machinery of the alliance that is still in its early stages, requiring coordination among the participating countries and the translation of political commitments into practical security arrangements.
Support to Saudi Arabia
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterating Islamabad’s strong support to the kingdom said Pakistan took immense pride in its historic and time-tested brotherhood with Saudi Arabia, rooted in faith, mutual trust and an abiding bond between our peoples.
He condemned the recent Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed that Pakistan stood unwaveringly, shoulder to shoulder, with the kingdom in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and the sanctity of Islam’s holiest sites.
Any threat to the sanctity and security of the Haramain Sharifain deeply wounded the sentiments of Muslims across the world, he said, while referring to the recent reprehensible attempted drone attack by the Houthis on the holy city of Makkah Al-Mukarramah.
In his message on the Saudi National Day, the PM also extended his warmest felicitations to the custodian of the two holy mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the brotherly people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Concluding with the slogan of “long live Pakistan-Saudi Arabia brotherhood,” PM Shehbaz prayed that the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia brotherhood continues to grow from strength to strength.
Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2026
