PM Shehbaz meets MDA chief, reaffirms security commitment to Saudi Arabia

The Houthi attacks have targeted key facilities, including airports and oil installations, amid escalating tensions linked to the wider US-Iran conflict.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiyeformalised their longstanding strategic relationship through the newly signed MJDA in August, a trilateral security framework that its proponents describe as a defensive arrangement aimed at strengthening collective deterrence, enhancing military cooperation and promoting regional stability.

During the conversation, the prime minister said that Pakistan stood alongside Saudi Arabia in safeguarding its sovereignty, defence and regional security under the agreement. “The Makkah peace agreement is a historic milestone for peace, unity and stability in the region,” PM Shehbaz said.

The PMO statement said that PM Shehbaz extended his best wishes to Lt Gen (retd) Mahmood on assuming the post of secretary general,"During the meeting, Lt Gen (retd) Mahmood briefed the prime minister on strategies to promote defence and strategic cooperation under the framework of the MJDA," it added.وزیراعظم محمد شہباز شریف سے مکہ ڈیفینس الائینس کے پہلے سیکرٹری جنرل، لیفٹیننٹ جنرل (ر) نعمان محمود کی ملاقات آج اسلام آباد میں ملاقات ہوئی. وزیراعظم نے عہدہ سنبھالنے پر جنرل (ر) نعمان محمود کے لئے نیک خواہشات کا اظہار کیا.گفتگو کرتے ہوئے وزیرِ اعظم نے کہا کہ مکہ امن معاہدہ خطے…pic.twitter.com/C1jj.

RiKw. Bs— Prime Minister's Office (@PakPMO)October 14, 2026A day earlier, Lt Gen (retd) Mahmood also held ameetingwith President Asif Ali Zardari, alongside Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. The president expressed confidence that the MJDA, signed by Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, would strengthen regional peace and stability through defensive cooperation guided by the principles of the UN Charter and international law.

On September 23, the governmentappointed. Lt Gen Mahmood as the first secretary general of the MJDA.The appointment was the first major institutional development since Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the pact, and his appointment gives Pakistan the responsibility of establishing and leading the alliance's first secretariat during its formative three-year period.

The decision was taken at the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, held under the MJDA, which brought together the foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs of the three countries in Istanbul on August 31.

Under the arrangement agreed in Istanbul, the secretary general would head the alliance's General Secretariat, based in the Saudi capital and tasked with overseeing implementation of the agreement, coordinating joint activities among the three militaries and supporting expanded defence-industrial cooperation.

For Islamabad, the role also provides an opportunity to shape the working structure of the new defence arrangement as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye move from the political commitment announced in Makkah towards a more organised mechanism for defence coordination.