Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dempsey of the US has issued a statement to the effect that Pak-US land links on the Afghan border have been re-established, implying that the resumption of Nato supplies by land routes is in the offing. Of course, we know that about a month ago, US Ambassador Cameron Munter also stated that Nato supplies were being funnelled through aerial supplies, which was later seconded by our Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar. If General Dempsey is telling the truth, it means our government is guilty of making yet another silent compromise and deceiving the nation. Most importantly, this secret compromise with the Americans is a glaring undermining of the supremacy of the parliament that is about to start a three-day debate on whether or not to open the supply lines.
All of this suggests that the Parliament will only rubberstamp its decision, merely for media and public’s consumption. What about the three dozen recommendations on new rules of engagement that the Parliamentary Committee on National Security has already made to the federal government to implement? Would they be also ignored like Parliament’s other exhortations? It is because of such compromises that there is also a strong perception that the government is in hand in glove with the US.