When Islamabad signs ‘transfer-of-technology’ clauses, what it receives is not the machinery to build but the license to assemble. The difference is subtle, yet fatal to sovereignty. For every imported valve or sonar array, a fragment of autonomy is pawned. When Islamabad signs ‘transfer-of-technology’ clauses, what it receives is not the machinery to build but the license to assemble. The difference is subtle, yet fatal to sovereignty. For every imported valve or sonar array, a fragment of autonomy is pawned.