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But only a few decades later, in 711, the Umayyad caliph in Damascus sent an expedition to Baluchistan (an arid region on the Iranian Plateau in Southwest Asia, presently split between Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) and Sindh (presently a province of Pakistan bordering on Baluchistan, Punjab, and Rajasthan, India). The expedition was led by a twenty-year-old Syrian Muslim chieftain named Muhammad bin Qasim (for whom Karachi's second port is named). The expedition went as far north as Multan, which at that time was known as the "city of gold," within which was the Sun Mandir, an extremely large Hindu temple that housed over 6,000 people. Muhammed bin Qasim invaded South Asia on the orders of Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef, the governor of Iraq. Muhammad bin Qasim's armies defeated Raja Dahir at what is now Hyderabad in India and established Islamic rule.

Conquering the area in 712 and supplanting its Hindu rulers, Qasim extended Muslim rule to the Indus Valley. Like Alexander the Great before him, he traveled and subdued the whole of what is modern Pakistan, from Karachi to Kashmir, but he managed this feat with a small force of only 6,000 Syrian tribesmen, reaching the borders of Kashmir within three years.

These conquests, however, couldn't be sustained by the Muslim Arabs for very long. Umayyad rule stretched too far, and any further conquests without consolidation would prove futile. From Lisbon in Portugal to Lahore in the Punjab were the apogee of this vast empire. Following Qasim's departure and demise, after he was recalled to Baghdad, Muslim rule shrank to Sindh and the southern Punjab. But coastal trade and the presence of a Muslim colony in Sindh permitted significant cultural exchanges and the introduction into the subcontinent of Islamic teachers. Consolidation took place and conversion was widespread, especially amongst the Buddhist majority. Multan became a center of the Ismaili sect of Islam (which still has many adherents today in Sindh).

In many regions north of Multan, however, several non-Muslim groups (largely Buddhists and Hindus as well as followers of folk religions further north) would remain numerous. From this period through the year 1000 the conquered area was divided into two parts: the northern region comprising the Punjab remained under the control of Hindu rajas while the southern area came under Muslim control and comprised Baluchistan, Sindh, and Multan--until a new invader appeared on the scene and reconquered all of what is today Pakistan.

Qasim demolished many temples, shattered "idolatorous" artwork and killed many people in his battles. After the violence, he attempted to establish law and order in the newly-conquered territory through the imposition of Islamic Shariah laws. He also sought control through systematic persecution of Hindus. Qasim wrote an account of such experiences:

O my cousin; I received your life inspiring letter. I was much pleased and overjoyed when it reached me. The events were recounted in an excellent and beautiful style, and I learnt that the ways and rules you follow are conformable to the Law. Except that you give protection to all, great and small alike, and make no difference between enemy and friend. God says, 'Give no quarter to Infidels, but cut their throats." "Then know that this is the command of the great God. You should not be too ready to grant protection, because it will prolong your work. After this, give no quarter to any enemy except to those who are of rank. This is a worthy resolve, and want of dignity will not be imputed to you. Peace be with you.

Culturally native populations of conquered territories under Qasim underwent a great deal of hardship and struggle for their refusal to convert to Islam. Heavy taxes known as Jizya were imposed upon the non-muslims, and the conversion of conquered populations occurred on a large scale.