'Headley arrest may have forced Pak to crack down on Taliban'

Revelations by Pakistani-American David Headley, a Lashkar-e-Tayiba   operative charged with conspiring in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, may have prompted Islamabad to finally go after the Afghan-Taliban, a noted United States scholar on South Asia has said.

After months of resisting mounting US pressure to crack down on Afghan Taliban leaders finding sanctuary on its soil, Pakistan finally appears to be coming through with cooperation that could help turn the tide in the war in Afghanistan, said Lisa Curtis from the Heritage Foundation.

"But given Pakistan's long track record of support to militant groups fighting in Afghanistan and India, it is too early to determine whether the most recent arrests signal a permanent reversal of its past policies, or merely a tactical shift to demonstrate its leverage in the region," she said.

She said it was unclear why Pakistan was stepping up the crackdown on the Afghan Taliban. But most observers believe Islamabad may be seeking to ensure it has a role in determining any potential settlement of the conflict.

"Others say it is partly a response to building US pressure. US President (Barack) Obama appealed directly to the Pakistanis to crack down on the Afghan Taliban through a letter hand-delivered by National Security Adviser General Jones to Pakistani President (Asif Ali) Zardari last fall," she noted.

The letter coincided with revelations after the arrest of Headley, who worked with the LeT in Pakistan to scout sites for the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, Curtis added.

Headley was arrested by US authorities in October last year and an ex-Pakistani major was named in the US affidavit as serving as Headley's handler for Mumbai terror attacks.

Since then, the US had repeatedly made the case to Pakistan that facilitating some terrorist groups while fighting others was counter-productive.

"It was possible this message was finally beginning to sink in," Curtis said.

Following last week's revelation that the number two Taliban leader, Mullah Baradar, was captured in Pakistan earlier this month, fresh reports indicate that at least three other senior Taliban leaders have also recently been arrested in Pakistan.

These include Mullah Abdul Kabir, a deputy prime minister in the former Taliban regime and a member of the Quetta Shura (Taliban leadership Council) as well as two 'shadow governors' of provinces in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Interior Minister Hanif Atmar has said he hoped these arrests represent the beginning of a 'large-scale' Pakistani operation against the Taliban. However, Curtis also cautioned that Pakistan's recent willingness to act against Taliban could also be a temporary tactical shift.