Lashkar-e-Taiba founder member Abu Hashim dies after fall from fourth floor in Lahore

A founder member of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, has died in suspicious circumstances in Lahore, Pakistan. He was notorious as "Abu Hashim" and has been described as someone who plotted against India and fuelled several terror attacks.

According to the information available, he suffered a very serious head injury after suddenly falling from the fourth floor of a building called Markaz Qadesia in Lahore. He died either during treatment or at the spot. However, no official or clear information has so far emerged on exactly how he fell, or whether it was an accident or the result of some internal enmity or conspiracy.

Abu Hashim was not a minor member of Lashkar. He had been an important part of the network since the organisation's founding. His main responsibilities were raising money from across the world and locally, handling financial transactions and running the hawala network. He was considered a very close and trusted associate of Hafiz Saeed, the main conspirator of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, and of Lashkar deputy chief Saifullah Kasuri.

For a long time, the reins of Lashkar's activities in Lahore were in Abu Hashim's hands. His role in decision-making and strategy within the organisation was also considered important.

The US Treasury Department imposed strict sanctions on him in 2016, citing anti-India activities and activities dangerous to global peace. The US had officially declared him a global terrorist. At that time he was the head of the Lahore wing of Lashkar-e-Taiba. The US administration had decided to freeze financial assets linked to Abu Hashim and another senior Lashkar leader, Shahid Mahmood. The main aim of the action was to break the back of Lashkar-e-Taiba's international fund-raising network.

After international pressure on terror organisations in Pakistan increased, Lashkar and Jamaat-ud-Dawa formed the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) as their new political wing. Abu Hashim was the president of the party's Punjab unit.

A PMML spokesperson has officially confirmed the news of Abu Hashim's death. But the party's explanation appears inconsistent. According to the party's claim, he was walking from home to the mosque to offer namaz when he suddenly collapsed. However, according to information from the spot and media reports, he fell from the fourth floor of the building. These conflicting accounts have deepened suspicion over his death.

Hafiz Saeed has been lodged in Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore since 2019. A Pakistani court has sentenced him in several terror financing cases. The end of one of his very important associates in this manner while Saeed is in jail points to friction between Pakistan's intelligence agencies and terror groups, the report said.

This is not the first such suspicious death in Pakistan. Earlier, in 2016, Javed Khanani, the main conspirator of a fake Indian currency note network, died in similarly mysterious circumstances after falling from a building under construction in Karachi. Various speculations are therefore being made internationally about Abu Hashim's death.