*ISLAMABAD- *The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has initiated aninquiry against the director general and regional directors of theAnti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab.

A high-level combined investigation team has been formed in this regard.The officer in charge of the team is already investigating a high-profilecorruption case, Daily Times has reported.

Sources in the bureau say that the inquiry was started on the directives ofNAB chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal.

ACE Punjab director general Brig (retd) Muzaffar Ali Ranjha will be probedfor misuse of official power.

Among the regional directors, Imtiaz Ahmad Malik, the regional director inSahiwal, will be the first officers to be inquired by the NAB CIT. The teamis preparing a charge sheet against him. The CIT will particularly focus oncorruption cases hastily closed down by the ACE Punjab pertaining to theirrigation, local governments, highways, buildings and public health andengineering departments of the provincial government.

The bureau suspects that the ACE has either hastily closed these inquirieswithout substantive effort or left files pertaining to these cases togather dust at its offices without any action against officials accused ofcorruption.