The Foreign Office (FO) announced on Wednesday that retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood had been appointed as the first secretary general of the Makkah Defence Alliance between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.

“The government of Pakistan is pleased to announce the appointment of Lt Gen Nauman Mahmood, Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military), (retired), as the first secretary general pursuant to the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement,” the FO said in a handout, referring to the alliance’s initial name.

“The secretary general will lead the general secretariat of the alliance being established at Riyadh,” the FO said.

The agreement — signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on August 7 — empowers member states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all.

Its inaugural meeting was held on Aug 31, where officials from all member states met in Istanbul to establish the institutional structure of the alliance and Pakistan was picked to head its secretariat in Riyadh.

Under the decisions taken during the meeting, a secretariat headed by a secretary general will be established in Saudi Arabia to support the alliance’s work under the agreement. The secretariat will initially be headed by a secretary general from Pakistan for three years.

The three countries also agreed to take steps to further institutionalise their cooperation in a manner that would enhance their solidarity, ensure the credibility and effectiveness of their collective deterrence and defence, and contribute to regional efforts and cooperative security towards a just, inclusive and lasting peace.

Since its signing, there has been conversation about the possibility of its expansion, with Turkiye initially suggesting the possibility of Egypt’s inclusion. Though there has been no confirmation from Cairo.

From Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar clarified soon after the signing that the pact was defensive in nature, with the latter saying that it was also “open to any country in the region” willing to uphold its fundamental principles.

However, when Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan was asked about possibility of the pact’s expansion during a weekly media briefing on Sept 10, he said an expansion was not on the cards at that point.

The three countries first needed to solidify the new organisation before considering opening it to other states with similar threat perceptions and requirements, he explained.

Meanwhile, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said last week that the alliance has no “regional aspirations”, adding that it was intended for collective deterrence.

Meanwhile, as the US-Iran conflict continues to expand with Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacking Saudi Arabia, he also said that Pakistan would go to “any extent” to defend Saudi Arabia, adding that Islamabad’s commitment to the kingdom’s security was “unconditional”.