SAHIWAL: A prayer leader from the District Headquarters Hospital has been arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) for his alleged links with a banned outfit.

Qari Muhammad Usman was picked up from the hospital on Monday night based on intelligence reports.

On the second day of Eidul Fitr recently, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif paid a surprise visit to the hospital to inquire after 15 children who had been injured in a mechanical ride accident at Kanan Park.

During his visit, security agencies tracked a call being made to some banned outfits. Later, the CTD Punjab along with local intelligence agencies determined the identity of the caller, who turned out to be the prayer leader.

Qari Usman was shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation. During the raid to pick up the suspect, the CTD also recovered literature of a banned outfit from the mosque.