From Pakistani army corps command to Riyadh: Who is Nauman Mahmood, Makkah Defence Alliance’s first chief?
Retired Lt Gen Nauman Mahmood. (Image courtesy: RNA)
New Delhi: Pakistan’s foreign ministry has announced the appointment of retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood as the first secretary general of the Makkah Defence Alliance between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. The ministry said Mahmood, who has been awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military), will lead the alliance’s general secretariat being established in Riyadh.
The appointment marks the start of the alliance’s institutional setup, with Mahmood taking charge at a time when the three countries are working to establish its structure and mechanisms for defence cooperation. His background includes senior military command, intelligence analysis, strategic studies and professional military education.
Who is Gen Nauman Mahmood?
Mahmood was commissioned into the Baloch Regiment of the Pakistani army in September 1987. He is a graduate of the Command and Staff College in Quetta, the Command and Staff College in Egypt and the National Defence University in Islamabad, and holds a master’s degree in War Studies, according to Dawn.
A substantial part of his career was spent at the Command and Staff College, where he served in various instructional positions before becoming chief instructor. His work there involved training military officers and teaching areas linked to strategy and operational planning.
He later moved into field command and, as a major general, commanded an infantry division in North Waziristan during Pakistan’s counterterrorism operations. He subsequently served as director general of the analysis directorate at Inter-Services Intelligence, where he was involved in analysing international developments from a national security perspective and maintaining external liaison with foreign intelligence agencies.
Later he was promoted to lieutenant general in April 2019 and appointed inspector general of communications and information technology at general headquarters. In December that year, he took command of XI Corps in Peshawar.
His tenure as corps commander came during a sensitive period along Pakistan’s western border, as the United States prepared to withdraw from Afghanistan and Pakistan continued efforts to strengthen border security amid developments in the neighbouring country.
Gen Mahmood relinquished command of XI Corps in November 2021 and was later appointed president of the National Defence University in Islamabad. He became the 35th head of the institution and remained in the position until retiring from the Pakistani army in April 2023.
He was also among the officers considered for promotion to Pakistani army chief during Pakistan’s 2022 leadership transition, according to Dawn.
What will Nauman Mahmood do in Riyadh?
Mahmood’s immediate task will be to help establish the alliance’s secretariat and build the institutional framework through which Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye will coordinate their defence cooperation.
The three countries signed the Makkah Defence Alliance on August 7. Under the agreement, an attack against one member is to be treated as an attack against all three, while Pakistani officials have described the pact as defensive and aimed at collective deterrence.
At the alliance’s inaugural meeting in Istanbul on August 31, the three countries agreed to establish the secretariat in Saudi Arabia and decided that a Pakistani nominee would serve as secretary general for the first three-year term.
The appointment also comes amid heightened security concerns involving Saudi Arabia. Pakistan’s military has recently reiterated its commitment to the kingdom’s security, Pakistan said they will go to “any extent” to defend Saudi Arabia and describing its commitment to the kingdom’s security as unconditional.
Pakistan has previously said that the alliance is focused on collective defence, while the Pakistani foreign office indicated earlier this month that expanding the grouping was not currently under consideration as the three founding members first work to consolidate the organization.
With Gen Mahmood now appointed as its first secretary general, the focus will shift to establishing the Riyadh-based secretariat and turning the defence commitments of the three countries into an operational institutional framework.
