Pakistan has appointed Lt. Gen. Nauman Mahmood (ret.) as the first secretary general of the Makkah Defense Alliance, the Foreign Office announced on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the secretary general would lead the General Secretariat of the alliance, being established in Riyadh.
Last month, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed that the first secretary general of the tripartite defense pact between Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would be from Pakistan.
The three countries signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement on Aug. 7, later renaming it to the Makkah Defense Alliance. The alliance held the inaugural meeting of its Strategic Political and Defense Committee in Istanbul last month.
Officials of all three countries have emphasized that the pact does not aim to target any nation, but rather serves as a general pledge to support the three allies’ security.