Pakistan's latest moves against Taliban fighters on their territory have been hailed by the United States, but others have questioned whether the increased co-operation is a ploy by Islamabad to assert its position as a key player in negotiations with the movement.<br /><br />Mullah Brader, a trusted friend of Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, was believed to be one of the key negotiators for the Taliban in Saudi Arabian-backed on reconciliation and reintegration talks.<br /><br />He was recently arrested in Karachi in a joint Pakistan-US operation, according to US media reports, and is now apparently being interrogated by US and Pakistani agents.<br /><br />It remains to be seen how his arrest impacts the negotiations. <br /><br />Two other Taliban commanders from northern Afghanistan have also reportedly been detained in Pakistan in recent weeks.<br /><br />Imtiaz Gul, a specialist on Pakistan's tribal region and author of The Al Qaeda Connection told Al Jazeera co-operation between Pakistan is improving.<br /><br />"I think that the military establishment has started co-operating with the United States now that the US has also started viewing the military establishment in Pakistan with more trust.<br /><br />"There seems to be a very clear policy shift as far as Pakistan's relations with the Afghan Taliban are concerned - because they are also directly impacting the situation inside Pakistan," he said.<br /><br />Despite the fact that Islamabad is apparently now providing the co-operation long demanded by Afghanistan, officials in Kabul have made little comment about the arrests.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Kabul on whether Pakistan's latest moves are helping or hindering attempts to end the conflict with the Taliban.
