Ex-army officer to head Makkah pact secretariat

Pakistan on Wednesday appointed Lt General (retd) Nauman Mahmood as the first secretary general of the Makkah Defence Alliance, paving the way for the formal establishment of the alliance's secretariat in Riyadh. The appointment is the first major institutional development since Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA) last month, creating a trilateral framework for collective defence and military cooperation. "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 Makkah Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA)," the Foreign Office said in a statement. "The Secretary General will lead the General Secretariat of the Alliance being established at Riyadh," it added. The decision follows the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee of the Makkah Agreement held in Istanbul on August 31. The meeting brought together the foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs of the three countries. The committee decided that the alliance's permanent secretariat would be established in Riyadh and that Pakistan would provide its first secretary general for an initial three-year term. The Istanbul meeting also agreed on measures to develop defence cooperation, including closer coordination among the three militaries, cooperation in defence production and joint work on emerging military technologies. The Makkah Defence Alliance was formally launched on August 7 when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the joint defence agreement in Makkah. At the heart of the agreement is a collective-defence commitment under which an armed attack against one member would be treated as an attack against all three. Pakistan has repeatedly emphasised that the arrangement is defensive and is not directed against any particular country. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said the agreement is consistent with the right of individual and collective self-defence recognised under the UN Charter. Islamabad has also indicated that the framework is not intended to replace existing bilateral or multilateral security arrangements of the three countries. Türkiye has similarly described the alliance as a defensive arrangement aimed at strengthening regional security. Turkish officials have said the framework could remain open to other friendly countries in the future, although Pakistan's Foreign Office has said there is currently no plan to expand the three-member alliance. The creation of the Riyadh secretariat is therefore significant because it will provide the alliance with its first permanent institutional mechanism. The secretary general will be responsible for coordinating the work of the three member states and helping turn the broad commitments contained in the Makkah agreement into practical arrangements.   Who is Nauman Mahmood? Lt Gen (retd) Nauman Mahmood is a former senior Pakistan Army commander with experience in military operations, intelligence, professional military education and strategic affairs. He was in the race for the army chief when the government was looking for the successor of General Qamar Javed Bajwa in November 2022. He was known as one of the most non-controversial army generals with an impeccable career and apolitical approach. A member of Baloch Regiment, he was commissioned into the army on September 11, 1987. During his military career, he served in command and instructional appointments, including assignments with an infantry formation and at the Command and Staff College. As a major general, he commanded an infantry division in North Waziristan. He also served in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), including as director general of its Analysis Directorate, where his responsibilities involved assessment of regional and international developments. After his promotion to lieutenant general, Naumam served at General Headquarters as inspector general for Communications and Information Technology. He was promoted to lieutenant general in April 2019 and subsequently appointed commander of XI Corps, commonly known as Peshawar Corps, in December that year. He remained in command of the corps until November 2021, during a period when Afghanistan was undergoing a major political and security transition following the US military withdrawal. Nauman was then appointed president of the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, becoming the institution's 35th president. He served in that position until April 2023, when he retired from the army. He has attended professional military courses in Pakistan and abroad, including at the Command and Staff College in Egypt, and is a graduate of the National Defence University in Islamabad. His appointment gives Pakistan the responsibility of establishing and leading the alliance's first secretariat during its formative three-year period. For Islamabad, the role also provides an opportunity to shape the working structure of the new defence arrangement as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye move from the political commitment announced in Makkah towards a more organised mechanism for defence coordination.