In compliance with the orders of Ombudsman Punjab Maj (retd) Azam Suleman Khan, the District Education Authority Bhakkar issued appointment letters to 32 eligible candidates under Rule 17-A of the Punjab Civil Servants (Appointment & Conditions of Service) Rules, 1974. In a statement issued on Sunday, a spokesman said that an applicant, Muhammad Qaiser Zia, had moved the Ombudsman office for his appointment as a junior clerk, along with 31 other candidates. The District Education Authority Bhakkar had conducted test of 51 applicants, and cleared 32 for appointment on merit on the basis of their typing and other skills. However, issuance of letters was delayed for certain reasons. Now, on the orders of the Ombudsman’s office, appointment letters have been issued to all 32 selected candidates. In a separate development, the intervention of the Ombudsman’s office has resulted in the release of Rs 1,219,355 pending salaries of six college teaching interns at the Government Associate College for Women Ratta Mata, Jhang. Separately, the Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA) allocated five-marla alternative residential plots to nine beneficiaries, including plaintiff Babar Ramzan, in a housing scheme, specifically designed for low-income strata in Sheikhupura after the intervention of the Ombudsman’s office. The applicants have thanked the Office of the Ombudsman Punjab for safeguarding their legal rights, the spokesman concluded.