Lahore: Muhammad Sarwar, a senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative and president of the Punjab chapter of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), died on Sunday after reportedly falling down the stairs of a mosque, according to media reports and a statement issued by his organisation.

A PMML spokesperson confirmed Sarwar’s death, stating that he had been on his way from home to a mosque to offer prayers when he suddenly fell. The organisation did not disclose the precise cause of death. However, Pakistan’s 24NewsHD television channel reported that he had sustained a fatal head injury after falling down the stairs.

The PMML is regarded as the political wing of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), the organisation led by Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Saeed has been held at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail since 2019 after being convicted in several cases related to terrorism financing. He was sentenced to multiple years in prison in connection with those cases.

Sarwar’s funeral was reportedly held late on Sunday night at Jamia Al-Qadsia, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa headquarters in Lahore’s Chuburji area.

US Designated Sarwar as a Global Terrorist in 2016

In 2016, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Sarwar and another senior LeT figure, Shahid Mahmood, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). The action was intended to disrupt the organisation’s financial networks and prevent the flow of funds and other support to the group.

OFAC stated that the designations were imposed because the two men had acted on behalf of, or as representatives of, Lashkar-e-Taiba. The measures also blocked their property and interests in property subject to US jurisdiction.

According to OFAC, Sarwar had served as a senior LeT official in Lahore for more than a decade, holding various leadership positions within the organisation. He had reportedly headed the group’s Lahore unit since at least January 2015.