Zardari Meets Makkah Defence Pact Secretary-General

President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday met Lieutenant General (retd) Nauman Mahmood, the first secretary-general of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, at the Presidency in Islamabad and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to regional peace and defensive cooperation under the pact (WE News).

Mahmood, who was appointed to lead the alliance’s General Secretariat being established in Riyadh, called on the president at Aiwan-e-Sadr. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was also present during the meeting.

Zardari expressed confidence that the agreement, signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on August 7 this year, would strengthen regional peace and stability through defensive cooperation guided by the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.

Purely defensive, not a bloc

The president underlined that the defence agreement is purely defensive in nature, is not directed against any country, and does not amount to the formation of a new bloc.

He stressed that Pakistan remains committed to the peaceful resolution of conflicts and to stronger regional and multilateral cooperation to deal with emerging challenges. He also called for closer coordination among regional partners to maintain peace and security.

The meeting comes at a moment when the pact is being tested. Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have continued in recent weeks, and the alliance’s members have been moving to give the agreement practical shape rather than leaving it as a paper commitment.

The pact’s rapid institutional build-up

The Zardari-Mahmood meeting follows a busy week for the alliance. On October 5, the Strategic-Political and Defence Committee of the Makkah Alliance for Defence held an emergency meeting in Riyadh, where it appointed Mahmood as the first secretary-general for a three-year term.

That meeting also decided to move immediately toward the practical implementation of collective defence commitments, including steps to provide agreed military forces and ensure their rapid deployment in Saudi Arabia. Pakistan was represented there by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir — a signal of how seriously Islamabad is taking the framework.

The agreement itself was signed in August by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Under it, an armed attack against any one of the three countries is treated as an attack against all three — a collective deterrence arrangement aimed at any act of aggression.

Islamabad has repeatedly described the pact as defensive. Khawaja Asif has told parliament there is no bar in the Makkah pact on direct involvement if a member faces a threat, while the Foreign Office has framed the alliance’s posture as defensive cooperation amid the Yemen conflict and Houthi attacks.

Why the Zardari Makkah pact meeting matters

Putting a Pakistani general at the head of the alliance’s secretariat gives Islamabad the first leadership role in the institution meant to coordinate the pact’s work. Tuesday’s meeting was, in effect, the presidency blessing that arrangement and restating Pakistan’s terms: cooperation for stability, disputes settled peacefully, and no entanglement beyond defence.

The rapid sequence — the Riyadh committee’s decisions on October 5, the agreement on force deployment, and now the president’s meeting with the new secretary-general — shows the three countries compressing into weeks a process that for most alliances takes years.

For Pakistan, the pact sits alongside a heavy diplomatic calendar. The same week saw Pakistan’s top civil and military leadership in Riyadh for the alliance’s committee meeting, underlining that the Makkah framework has moved to the centre of the country’s regional security policy.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Nauman Mahmood?

Lieutenant General (retd) Nauman Mahmood is the first secretary-general of the Makkah Alliance for Defence, appointed for a three-year term on October 5, 2026. He will lead the alliance’s General Secretariat being set up in Riyadh.

Which countries are in the Makkah defence pact?

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. The agreement was signed on August 7, 2026 by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Is the pact directed against any country?

Pakistan’s official position, repeated by President Zardari on Tuesday, is that the agreement is purely defensive, is not directed against any country, and does not constitute a new bloc.

What did the October 5 Riyadh meeting decide?

The Strategic-Political and Defence Committee decided to move immediately to practical implementation of collective defence commitments, including rapid deployment arrangements for agreed forces in Saudi Arabia.