Muhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi (c. 31 December 695 18 July 715) was an Umayyad general who conquered the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus river (now a part of Pakistan) at the age of seventeen. He was born in the city of Taif (in modern day Saudi Arabia). The conquest of Sindh and Punjab began the era of Islamic rule in South Asia.