OK, for those skeptical about Pakistan’s backbone regarding the Islamo Fascists they just arrested the number 3 Taliban leader:

Pakistani security forces have captured a high-ranking Taliban leader in the southwestern city of Quetta, a senior Pakistani security official and Taliban sources said on Thursday.

The capture of Mullah Obaidullah Akhund marked the first time Pakistan had arrested a senior leader of the Islamist militia since it was driven from power in Afghanistan in 2001, and thousands of its fighters fled into Pakistan.

The security official, who requested anonymity, and the Taliban sources said Akhund, the third most senior member of the Taliban’s 10-member leadership council, was arrested late on Monday, hours after a surprise visit to Pakistan by U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney.

That leaves Mullah Omar and Mullah Dadullah (what a funky name) to be dealt with. This will definitely be a test of Pakistani and Musharaaf resolve. There will be a backlash. So we will know soon enough if Islamabad is serious about the war on terror. My instincts tell me they are, knowing they cannot round up all the Taliban but must, at some point, find a path for coexistence. People who do not include this aspect of the future in their positions are just not thinking this through to a time when we don’t require military actions any more.