AP Photo

Seldom are things exactly as they seem in the complicated labyrinth of Pakistani-American relations. Take the recent capture of the Afghan Taliban's military chief, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in Karachi early this year. As far as is known, the CIA got word through a communications intercept that there might be a Taliban meeting taking place in the port city. The CIA tipped off Pakistani intelligence, which made the arrest.

Not long afterwards, the Pakistanis picked up Mullah Kabir, another ranking member of the "Quetta Shura," the inner circle of the Afghan Taliban leadership. This, in addition to the arrest of a Taliban shadow provincial governor, Mohammed Yunis, indicated to the Americans that Pakistan had a change of heart about their erstwhile allies, the Taliban.