Some of our politicians have accused America of violating our sovereignty by bombing our tribal areas. The accusation is utterly unfounded. It is the result of the accusers' ignorance of the real essence of sovereignty. There are two radically distinct brands of sovereignty. There is an absolutely genuine sovereignty and an absolutely fake sovereignty. A genuine sovereignty is a sovereignty which is militarily and financially absolutely self-dependent. A fake sovereignty is a sovereignty which is militarily and financially subservient to some supreme power. We have never been a genuinely sovereignty state. How could America violate what we have never had? The accusers must amend their philosophy of sovereignty and tender their apologies to Washington. Naturally, our fake sovereignty is a slave of America's genuine sovereignty. We are America's slaves. No doubt, slaves also have certain rights. But their rights are determined by their masters and not by themselves. There are only a few absolutely genuine sovereign states in the world. The rest of the states are fake sovereignties. We are a fake sovereignty. We must not be depressed. Rather we must be proud that we belong to the great majority of the states which are fake sovereignties. Ours is an age of democracy. By belonging to the majority of the states, we have demonstrated our love for democracy. President Bush has said, "America respects Pakistan's sovereignty." In order to convince us that he honestly regards Pakistan as a sovereign state, he has offered us 118 million dollars as food aid. The offer has convinced us that he honestly regards Pakistan as a sovereign state. Had he offered double the amount, we would have been doubly convinced of his respect for our sovereignty. Imagine a 'sovereign' state unable to feed its starvation stricken citizens. According to a journalist's report, the prime minister and his entourage were contemptuously treated when they stepped out of their plan at the Andrews Air Force base. The prime minister was forced to walk from the plane to the shed gate. There was no customary reception. The prime minister looked depressed. If Pakistan had been a genuine sovereign state, would the prime have been treated as he was treated? Being a fake sovereignty, Pakistan must not expect a royal reception of its leaders by sovereign America. Moreover, the prime minister ought not to have been depressed. Walking is a healthy exercise - even a forced one. The prime minister ought to have been grateful to President Bush who was so concerned about the prime minister's health. However, we must be careful in future. If a Pakistani prime minister were to visit America in future, he must not forget to carry a pair of walking shoes in his pockets. The government says that the purpose of the prime minister's pilgrimage to the White House was to further deepen the already existing deep relationship between Washington and Pakistan. The pilgrimage is declared to be a great success. It means that the existing deep relationship is further deepened. Unfortunately, it is not revealed how much additional depth is added to the already existing depth. The visit must have cost the nation millions of Rupees. Naturally, the masses have a right to know whether the additional depth was worth the cost. But the secret shall never be made public. Almost all our presidents and prime ministers have visited Washington officially in the past. And every visit was declared a great success. An unsuccessful visit has yet to take place. And such a visit can never take place. As Pakistanis we believe that there is a law of nature that whenever a Pakistani president or a prime minister visits Washington, the visit must be a glorious success. Nature cannot amend this law. America is the biggest buyer of our military and political loyalties. And selling our military and political loyalties to America is our biggest dollars-earning industry. God forbid that Washington should ever stop buying our political and military loyalties. At the international level, America is a Supreme Sovereign state. Pakistan is a miserably non-sovereign country. But at the domestic level Pakistan is more sovereign than America. The American rulers are miserable. They are at the mercy of their masses. On the contrary, the Pakistani rulers are supremely sovereign rulers. The masses are absolutely at their mercy. Though nature has deprived Pakistan of sovereignty at the international level, it has generally compensated the country at the domestic level. The writer is an academic