ISLAMABAD, May 3: The Pakistan People’s Party on Saturday hailed the Supreme Court verdict reinstating over 800 Sui Southern Gas Company employees and said the verdict had vindicated the PPP’s position that cases against its leaders were politically motivated.

PPP Deputy Secretary-General Mian Raza Rabbani said in a statement that Friday’s verdict ordering the company to absorb all the employees who had been recruited during the PPP government but were sacked by the following government was a long overdue relief to them.

He said the verdict vindicated the PPP’s position that the jobs were given in a lawful manner in accordance with the party manifesto and termination of the services of the employees was wrong, illegal and politically motivated.

“The party wishes to recall that earlier on the Supreme Court also set aside the conviction handed down by an accountability court in the SGS pre-shipment inspection case to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Zardari,” Mr Rabbani said.

He said the Supreme Court had declared that the “bias of the trial judge floated on the surface of the record,” vindicating the PPP’s position that the case was politically motivated.

Mr Rabbani said the verdicts of the Supreme Court should make the government realise that the charges and cases against Ms Bhutto and the PPP were false and politically motivated. “It would be, therefore, logical if the Jamali government announced to withdraw all the false and fictitious cases against PPP leaders without delay,” he said.

“As the PPP views the Supreme Court verdict as a vindication of its pro-worker and pro-labour policies, it also takes this opportunity to condemn and denounce the anti-labour Industrial Relations Ordinance (IRO) 2002 and demands its immediate repeal.”

He said the promulgation of the IRO 2002 after the National Assembly had been elected was mala fide and unlawful.

“The PPP will not indemnify the IRO 2002 and other such anti-people and anti- democratic laws, which the regime is seeking via the Legal Framework Order,” he said.