Pakistan has appointed retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood as the first Secretary General of the Makkah Defense Alliance, with the alliance’s General Secretariat to be established in Riyadh.

The Foreign Office announced the appointment on Wednesday, fulfilling an earlier agreement among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye that Pakistan would provide the alliance’s first Secretary General for a three-year term.

The decision follows the first meeting of the alliance’s Strategic Political and Defense Committee in Istanbul on August 31. The three countries agreed at the meeting to establish a permanent secretariat in Saudi Arabia and have Pakistan provide its first Secretary General.

The appointment also follows an earlier announcement by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan that the first Secretary General would be from Pakistan and that the secretariat would be based in Riyadh.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement in Makkah on August 7, 2026. The agreement provides a framework for closer defense cooperation and collective deterrence among the three countries.

The three countries subsequently began building the alliance’s institutional structure through the Strategic Political and Defense Committee.

At the August 31 meeting, the countries agreed to deepen coordination between their armed forces, conduct joint activities and expand cooperation in defense technology and production.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office has previously described the agreement as defensive in nature and said it is not directed against any particular country.