The three participating countries in the alliance decided last month that a Pakistani nominee would head its secretariat as the first secretary general. The first term puts Lt Gen Mahmood in the position of a “direction-setter” during the alliance’s formative years as it builds its institutional structure.

His immediate task in Riyadh will be to help build the institutional machinery of the alliance that is still in its early stages, requiring coordination among the participating countries and the translation of political commitments into practical security arrangements.

A Baloch Regiment officer, he was commissioned into the Pakistan Army in September 1987. He is a graduate of the Command and Staff College, Quetta, the Command and Staff College in Egypt and the National Defence University, Islamabad, and holds a master’s degree in War Studies.

A substantial part of his career was spent at the Command and Staff College, where he served in different instructional capacities before becoming chief instructor. The posting not only gave him extensive experience in training officers but also exposed him to military strategy and operational planning.

As a major general, he commanded an infantry division in North Waziristan, where the army had been engaged in counterterrorism operations for several years.

His next assignment took him from the battlefield to the intelligence community when he was appointed director general of the Analysis Directorate at Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

At the ISI, his work involved assessing developments abroad from a national security perspective, making the assignment particularly relevant to Pakistan’s foreign policy and strategic decision-making. The position also brought him into contact with foreign intelligence agencies as part of the ISI’s external liaison.

He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in April 2019 and appointed inspector general of Communications and Information Technology at General Headquarters. In December that year, he moved to Peshawar to take command of XI Corps.

His tenure as corps commander coincided with one of the most sensitive periods along Pakistan’s western border. The US was preparing to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, while Pakistan was pressing ahead with the fencing of the frontier and dealing with the security fallout from the rapidly changing situation across the border.

Lt Gen Mahmood relinquished command of XI Corps in Nov 2021 and was subsequently appointed president of the National Defence University in Islamabad, becoming the 35th head of the institution. He remained in the post until he retired from the army in April 2023.

He was also among the officers believed to be contenders for elevation to the post of chief of army staff during the last transition in 2022.

Lt Gen Mahmood’s military career has taken him through several areas that are now relevant to his role in the new alliance, from command of a formation in the former tribal areas and responsibility for a sensitive section of the Afghanistan border to intelligence analysis, foreign liaison and the teaching of national security and strategic affairs.

Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth made the stark warning as he announced the creation of a new squadron charged with defending British satellites in orbit, the latest move as various countries rush for military space capacities.

The announcement comes just over a week after the United States confirmed for the first time that it has weapons deployed orbiting Earth, sparking fears of an arms race in space.

It prompted China to warn against turning outer space into a “battlefield” and Russia to caution it must be “free from any weapon”.

But Smyth, head of the Royal Air Force (RAF) since August 2025, said Western allies were seeing “more and more irresponsible and provocative actions” from rivals in space, namechecking Russia for a number of “dangerous” incidents.

“Space has become a warfighting domain, whether we like that or not, and the UK as well as its partners and allies must be prepared for this,” he told the UK Space Power Conference in London.

“It is time for us to harness our resources … and it’s time to deliver more meaningfully with our space capabilities.”

‘Flagrant disregard’

London created UK Space Command in April 2021, so commanders from the RAF, Royal Navy and Army can jointly run military strategy, operations and capabilities beyond Earth.

That came 16 months after Washington established the US Space Force as the sixth branch of its armed forces.

Outer space has become an increasingly strategic domain for global powers in the military and technology fields, with the West increasingly vying with China and Russia for supremacy.

In his speech, Smyth accused Moscow of a “flagrant disregard of the norms for responsible behaviour by spacefaring nations” after several incidents.

They included five Russian military satellites allegedly moving dangerously close to two Finnish commercial satellites in May.

Meanwhile in June, Smyth said it was confirmed that “a Russian satellite constellation” had caused disruptions to GPS signals across Europe, Greenland, and Canada over at least 75 days since 2019.

The disclosures follow the then-head of UK Space Command warning last year that Russia was regularly attempting to jam British military satellites.

Major General Paul Tedman noted at the time that Britain was operating six dedicated military satellites for communications and surveillance, which were equipped with counter-jamming technology.

‘Avoid escalation’

The new RAF unit — to be known as No. III Space Effects Squadron — will protect critical satellites used in communications and to warn of incoming missile attacks.

The UK created two squadrons in 2023 that “watch and warn” of space threats but the latest will “act against those threats, using advanced technology, including electronic warfare,” according to the defence ministry.

It will be staffed by specialist personnel from across the defence sector, and “support offensive and defensive space operations,” Smyth noted.

He revealed the RAF has three more units planned, including a space tactics and training squadron and another to deliver deep space advanced radar capabilities.

The air chief said London has also been stepping up collaboration with Western allies, including through the multinational US Space Force-led Joint Commercial Operations initiative, which detects and predicts space threats.

The developments across the domain are being driven by rapid technological advancements but currently lack a comprehensive legal framework.

Smyth insisted “no one wants a war in space” and that Britain and its allies were “positioning to deter this”.

“The UK will always operate responsibly in ways that promote stability and avoid escalation,” he argued.

A spokesperson for the agency said that according to preliminary information, the suspect — a second-year student and the only son of his parents — had reportedly developed strained relations with his father and allegedly planned to kill him following a disagreement.

During the investigation, authorities learned that the teenager had developed an interest in chemistry after watching the American crime drama ‘Breaking Bad’. He had reportedly set up a small laboratory at home to conduct chemical experiments, the spokesperson said.

The suspect allegedly obtained chemical material from Australia and Islamabad and concocted a substance at home with the intention of poisoning his father. He reportedly administered the substance to his father on one occasion, but the attempt was not successful, the spokesperson said.

Subsequently, the teenager allegedly sought further guidance from AI, asking how to administer a poison capable of causing his father’s death without detection, he added.

The spokesperson said the Punjab NCCIA received the information about the suspect through an automated system. Following this, NCCIA Punjab Director Hissam Bin Iqbal directed the formation of a team to investigate the matter.

The team later conducted an operation in Bahawalpur and arrested the suspect. Further investigation was under way to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident, the nature of the chemicals involved and the suspect’s online activities, the spokesperson said.

AI chatbots and agents have been linked to cases of harm and death, leading to concerns about their usage and the imposition of tighter regulations and controls.

The Euro­pean Union last month introduced sweeping laws that give it the power to enfo­rce landmark AI rules and to fine any companies that break the law. Pakistan has also previously called for the use of AI to be regulated by the United Nations charter.

Last year, American artificial intelligence firm OpenAI said it would add parental controls to its chatbot ChatGPT after an American couple said the system had encouraged their teenage son to kill himself.

“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”.