Islamabad (GNP): President Asif Ali Zardari has said the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement is purely defensive in nature and does not create a new bloc. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to regional peace and stability under the pact.
He made the remarks on Tuesday during a meeting with Lieutenant General (retd) Nauman Mahmood, the first secretary-general of the Makkah defence alliance, at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad. Federal Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi was also present.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the agreement on August 7, 2026. President Zardari expressed confidence that it would contribute to regional peace through defensive cooperation guided by the United Nations Charter and international law.
He stressed that the accord is not directed against any country. He also reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to resolving conflicts peacefully and strengthening regional and multilateral cooperation to address emerging challenges.
The pact was signed in Makkah and establishes a framework for collective deterrence and defence cooperation. Under its provisions, an armed attack on one member is treated as an attack on all three.
It builds on existing military ties among the signatories. Pakistan has trained and technically assisted Saudi forces for decades, while Islamabad and Ankara have developed close defence links through military training, naval cooperation and defence equipment.
Mahmood’s appointment followed the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee in Istanbul on August 31. The meeting brought together the foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs of the three countries.
The decision gives Pakistan a leading role in establishing and directing the alliance’s first secretariat during its initial three-year period. The secretary-general will lead the General Secretariat in Riyadh, which oversees implementation of the agreement, coordinates joint activities among the three militaries and supports expanded defence-industrial cooperation.
The appointment also allows Islamabad to help shape the alliance’s institutional structure as the three countries move towards a more organised framework for defence coordination.
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Mahmood is a former senior army commander with experience in military operations, intelligence and strategic affairs. A member of the Baloch Regiment, he was commissioned into the Pakistan Army on September 11, 1987, and as a major general commanded an infantry division in North Waziristan.
He also served in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), including as director general of its Analysis Directorate. After promotion to lieutenant general in April 2019, he took command of XI Corps in Peshawar in December 2019 and led it until November 2021.
He then became the 35th president of the National Defence University (NDU) in Islamabad and held the post until he retired in April 2023.
President Zardari said, “The agreement is purely defensive, is not aimed at any country and forms no new bloc.”
Managing Editor at Global News Pakistan (GNP), with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Riphah International University, graduated with a Gold Medal. Reach out at sabahtareengnp@gmail.com
