No, the manifest.xml is a XML file with info about the file, like the title, last page readed, orientation, etc...
The pdf reader is ipdf, the command ipdf [pdf_name] sould open the document, I never try my self. But, it seams that ipdf will not recive the buttons signals, see this thread
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34292