Riyadh:Pakistan has appointed retired Lt. Gen. Nauman Mahmood as the inaugural secretary-general of the Mecca defense pact, which involves a trilateral agreement between Saudi Arabia, T¼rkiye, and Pakistan.

According to Anadolu Agency, Mahmood will lead the alliance's General Secretariat located in Riyadh, as confirmed by a statement from the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.

Lt. Gen. Mahmood previously served as the head of the National Defence University in Islamabad from November 2021 until April 2023. He joined the Pakistan Army in 1987 and retired in 2023.

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in August, focuses on fostering security, peace, stability, and prosperity among the member states while enhancing collective deterrence.

A key provision of the agreement is that an attack on any of the signatory states will be regarded as an attack on all parties involved.