NEW DELHI: US designated
Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar alias Abu Hashim, one of the founding members of the outfit, died after mysteriously falling from the fourth floor of Markaz Qudesia in Lahore Sunday.
The incident reminded of a similar death that had occurred in 2016 when fake currency kingpin, Javed Khanani, had died after falling from an under construction building in Karachi.
Sarwar was currently handling the finance wing and fundraising excercise in Punjab province under the garb of the outfit's political wing, Pakistan Markazi Muslim League. He was a close aide of both
Hafiz Saeed and current deputy chief Saifullah Kasuri. Sarwar's son had also died in a road accident a few months ago.
It was in 2016 tha Sarwar was designated a terrorist by the US justice department who termed himself as a senior LeT memeber in Lahore active since early 2000s, holding various leadership roles in the group. At the time, he was LeT’s emir for Lahore, a position he has held since at least January 2015.
"As the LeT emir of Lahore, Sarwar maintains relationships with LeT’s most senior leaders. Between 2012 and 2013, Sarwar worked with LeT’s foreign affairs chief Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki, and in early 2013, Makki asked Sarwar for money to pay for his travel within Pakistan," the US justice department had said in its statement.
"Sarwar had been directly involved in LeT fundraising activities and used the formal financial system in Pakistan to raise and move funds on behalf of LeT. For example, in 2008, Sarwar led delegations of businessmen to LeT facilities for the purpose of soliciting donations for the group," it added.