Of drones and parliamentary supremacy

It was only the other day when President Asif Ali Zardari, once again, requested, through a visiting dignitary, to the US to transfer the drone technology to Pakistan since use of these unmanned predators by the Obama Administration violates the countrys territorial sovereignty. This blatant undermining of Pakistans sovereignty, and perforce acceptance of the incumbent Government was timely highlighted by none else but the party, which is apparently blamed for allowing the US to use drones in this region through some agreements with former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf.
Surprisingly, Parliamentary Leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) Mukhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat told the National Assembly on Wednesday that former military dictator General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf had no agreement with the US government for the use of drones technology. Mukhdoom definitely draws authority on the inside information about the Musharraf regime since he himself has been part of it but he might not be right in saying that there was no agreement between the former regime in Pakistan and the US for the use of drones inside Pakistani territory. Still, he was quite right in pointing out that frequent drone attacks inside Pakistan were a clear violation of not only the countrys sovereignty but also belying the so-called claim of parliamentary supremacy.
Mukhdoom, notwithstanding his and his partys role during the previous regime, was pertinent to ask about the gulf between the words and deeds of not only the ruling PPP but also that of the main Opposition party namely the PML-N. You cannot ascertain that you are supreme by repeatedly saying so inside or outside the august houses of the parliament, but it would be your deeds as parliamentarians that would prove your supremacy as well as sovereignty as a country, he made it a point.
Besides the discussion on politics, and ongoing debate in the National Assembly on the terrorist attacks, especially in Lahore recently, the news of the day even in the press lounge and gallery of the parliament was the imminent appoint of Abdul Hafeez Sheikh as next head of the PPP Governments team of economy managers.
There is an obvious commonality between the two issues of US drone attacks and the Government selecting Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, as the Prime Ministers Advisor on Finance, and that was that both of these measures were perforce. Certain analysts might debate whether or not the Government did has any choice about both the drones and the new top finance manager, the insiders precise answer is a big 'no.
Drones started during the Musharraf regime, and Mr Sheikh was also one of the key selections of the former dictator as he has been his privatisation as well as investment minister for the initial tenure of three years when the General preferred to be as the chief executive of the country.
PPP came in power, though, through the 2008 elections, in fact consequent upon the power sharing deal with General Pervez Musharraf. Therefore it had to inherit not only the policies like compromising drone attacks but also certain personalities like most of incumbent governors, much ahead of taking Musharrafs man as Finance Advisor, if not Minister. The only marvellous job done by Mr Shiekh during the Musharraf regime was transfer through vague privatisation of the national sliver namely the Pakistan Telecom Company Limited to the UAE based Etisalat at highly questionable terms and conditions. Therefore the powers be that in the form of the US establishment, the Bretoon Woods Institutions, or even the political elected set-up here do in the homeland whatever they wish to do here irrespective of the economic as well as constitutional sovereign rights of the people of this country.