Lt Gen (retd) Nauman Mahmood appointed first secretary-general of Makkah alliance

• Appointment announced by Pakistan’s Foreign Office.
• General Secretariat to be established in Riyadh.
• Fidan had earlier confirmed Pakistani secretary general.
  

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has appointed Lieutenant General (retired) Nauman Mahmood as the first secretary general of the Makkah Defence Alliance, the Foreign Office said on Wednesday.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the secretary general will lead the General Secretariat of the alliance, which is being established in Riyadh.

The appointment comes after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had confirmed last month that the secretary general of the tripartite defence pact between Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia — “Makkah Defence Alliance” — would be from Pakistan.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the “Makkah Joint Defence Agreement” on August 7, which was later renamed as the “Makkah Defence Alliance”.

The alliance held an inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, established under the tripartite pact, in Istanbul last month.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir represented Pakistan at the high-level trilateral huddle.

Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Turkish FM Fidan, Minister of National Defence Yasar Guler and Chief of the Turkish General Staff Selcuk Bayraktaroglu also attended the inaugural meeting.

Officials of the three countries said the new alliance was not directed against any nation, but rather served as a general pledge to support the three allies’ security.

Foreign Minister Hakan had said that Turkiye expected Egypt to join the pact “in the next stage”, telling the Anadolu state news agency only “a few technical issues” stood in the way.

Bangladesh had also indicated a willingness to join the alliance as Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humaiun Kobir said Bangladesh maintains a positive approach towards joining an economic or defence framework involving the three countries, while considering its own interests and changing global economic and trade dynamics.