Pakistan’s retired three-star general will become the first secretary general of the Makkah Defence Alliance secretariat in Riyadh.
WEB DESK: Retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood has been appointed the first secretary general of the Makkah Defence Alliance, placing the former Pakistan Army commander at the centre of the new trilateral defence framework between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office announced his appointment on September 23, saying he will lead the alliance’s General Secretariat, which is being established in Riyadh. The three countries had earlier agreed that Pakistan would initially head the secretariat.
But who is Nauman Mahmood, and what has been his military career?
Military career
Nauman Mahmood was commissioned into the Pakistan Army in September 1987 and belongs to the Baloch Regiment.
According to Dawn, he graduated from the Command and Staff College in Quetta, the Command and Staff College in Egypt and the National Defence University in Islamabad. He also holds a master’s degree in War Studies.
A significant part of his career was spent at the Command and Staff College, where he held several instructional positions and later served as chief instructor. The assignments gave him experience in officer training, military strategy and operational planning.
Command and counterterrorism experience
As a major general, Mahmood commanded an infantry division in North Waziristan, where the Pakistan Army had been conducting counterterrorism operations.
His career therefore included experience in one of Pakistan’s key security zones along the country’s western frontier.
He was subsequently promoted to lieutenant general in April 2019.
Before that promotion, Mahmood had also served in the intelligence community as director general of the Analysis Directorate at Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Dawn reported that his responsibilities included assessing developments abroad from a national security perspective and liaison with foreign intelligence agencies.
Senior Army appointments
After his promotion to lieutenant general in April 2019, Mahmood was appointed inspector general of Communications and Information Technology at General Headquarters.
In December of the same year, he took command of XI Corps in Peshawar. His tenure coincided with a sensitive period on Pakistan’s western border as the United States prepared to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan and Pakistan continued border-fencing efforts.
Mahmood relinquished command of XI Corps in November 2021.
He was subsequently appointed president of the National Defence University in Islamabad, becoming the institution’s 35th head. He remained in the position until retiring from the Pakistan Army in April 2023.
Considered for army chief position in 2022
During the 2022 change of Pakistan’s military leadership, Mahmood was among the officers reported to have been considered for elevation to chief of army staff.
He was ultimately not appointed to the position. General Asim Munir became Pakistan’s army chief in November 2022.
New role in Makkah Defence Alliance
Mahmood’s new appointment comes as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye establish the institutional structure of their trilateral defence arrangement.
The three countries signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7, 2026. The agreement provides that an attack against one member is to be treated as an attack against all three.
An inaugural Strategic Political and Defence Committee meeting was held in Istanbul on August 31. According to Dawn, the participating countries decided that the alliance secretariat would be established in Riyadh and initially headed by a Pakistani secretary general for three years.
Mahmood’s immediate responsibility will be to help establish the alliance’s institutional machinery and coordinate among its three participating countries.
Dawn described his first term as that of a key “direction-setter” during the alliance’s formative period, when political commitments will need to be translated into practical institutional arrangements.
Experience relevant to the new alliance
Mahmood’s career has covered several areas relevant to his new assignment, including military command, counterterrorism operations, intelligence analysis, foreign liaison, strategic studies and professional military education.
His experience along Pakistan’s western frontier and in intelligence analysis is particularly relevant to an organisation focused on defence cooperation and collective security.
The Makkah Defence Alliance remains in its early institutional phase, with the Riyadh-based secretariat now being established under Mahmood’s leadership.
 Nauman Mahmood has been appointed the first secretary general of the Makkah Defence Alliance. Here is his military career and background.){kind=link}