SAHIWAL, Sept 23: An Anti-Corruption Establishment team comprising deputy directors (technical and investigation wings), arrived here from Lahore and took into custody the four-year old office record of former district nazim Rai Hasan Nawaz and former tehsil nazim Rana Aamir Shahzad Tahir.

The fortune seems to be running against Rai Hasan Nawaz this time around as he has ventured to challenge Naveed Aslam Khan, the government-backed candidate for the district nazim seat.

Sailing in the same boat is Rana Aamir Shahzad, who is out to fight against ruling PML nominee Shabbar Ali Ahmed Khan for the tehsil nazim slot.

Both the former district and tehsil nazims have reportedly refused the high command to withdraw their candidatures against the nominees of the ruling PML.

Adnan Mahsood Rathore, the inquiry team head, gave out that people had filed several complaints against the former district nazim. For this purpose, he said ACE director-general Brig Aslam Ghuman (retired) ordered him and the deputy director (technical wing) to constitute a team for investigation.

He said the record was taken into custody and the inquiry team would complete the investigation within a week. He said cases would be registered against Rai Hasan Nawaz and Rana Amir Shahzad if the charges levelled against them established.

Mr Rathore further revealed that complainants were extending their full cooperation to the inquiry team. Apart from them, any officer found involved in wrongdoings would have to face the music, he said.

Meanwhile, ARD’s city president Mehr Ghulam Farid Kathia and secretary-general Malik Nadeem Kamran said they would support Rai Hasan Nawaz for the district nazim slot and Rana Aamir Shahzad and Chaudhry Munir Azhar for the slots of Sahiwal and Chichawatni tehsils’ nazims, respectively.

Talking to reporters here on Friday, they vowed to stand unitedly against the government-backed candidates.

They claimed that parliamentarians, opposing the government-nominated candidates, were facing revengeful action.