Innuendos yes; subtle hints yes; sly mannerisms yes; the odd media leak yesbut this is the first time ever that at an authoritative level Pakistan has admitted that the Pied Piper is actually leading the fearsome Taliban leaders.

The maximum that Pakistan had come so far was when former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf said in a Pakistani TV interview last October 'We trained Taliban gave them weapon and sent them for war and they (militants) were our heroes…In President Karzai's times yes indeed he was damaging Pakistan and therefore we were working against his interest. Obviously we had to protect our own interest. . . . Pakistan had its own proxies…'

The Pakistani generals never quite retire but Musharraf was not holding any public office when he spoke. At any rate Aziz has zipped past Musharraf.

In a few sentences Aziz unceremoniously demolished the myth that has been assiduously cultivated and tenaciously sustained for two decades and more to the effect that Pakistan has no control over the Taliban.

Aziz said during an event at the well-known American think tank Council of Foreign Relations in Washington DC on Tuesdaywhen he was asked pointedly about the extent of influence Pakistan would be wielding over the Taliban to get them to come to the negotiating table:

Aziz is a highly experienced statesman and an accomplished diplomat and always speaks with great deliberation and circumspectioneven in the heat of a quarrel involving India. It is inconceivable that he would commit afaux pason such a hugely sensitive topic.

Aziz actually took it upon himself to flesh out the Pakistani modus operandi to arm twist the Taliban leaders. Himself an ethnic Pashtun Aziz would know that Taliban leaders wouldn't like being discussed publicly in a way that exposes their high vulnerability to Pakistani pressure.

Indeed at its most obvious level this has been an eager attempt on Aziz's part to impress the American audience with Pakistan's sincerity candor and good faith. Aziz would be acutely conscious that Pakistan faces a formidable credibility problem in the US perceptions.

In the outside perception Pakistan's sincerity of purpose even within the Quadrilateral Consultative Group (comprising Pakistan Afghanistan US and China) which promotes the reconciliation with the Taliban is not yet beyond; such is the backlog of the history of Pakistani doublespeak.

Therefore the question that comes readily to mind is: Can it be that Pakistan is distancing itself finally from the Taliban and preparing to dump them?

However that seems an improbable scenario since the Taliban are on victory march at present exercising control over one-third of Afghanistan and evicting the Afghan government forces from more and more areas in southern Afghanistan across the Durand Line.

At a time when the international community has come to accept the Taliban as a mainstream player why should Pakistan change tack? Indeed the time is nearing for Pakistan to encash its 'strategic assets' and secure its own interests in any Afghan settlement.

The most striking thing here is that Aziz went on record before an elite American audience. The CFR is a premier think tank of the US foreign and security policy establishment.

Pakistan seems to be embarking on a shift in its Afghan strategy. Suffice it to say what used to be a covert alliance with the Taliban is being openly acknowledged even publicized in a high-profile manner.

This would help Pakistan to recalibrate its overall stance now that the defining moment is arriving shortly to formally launch the reconciliation process involving the Taliban. From now onward as Americans would say it is going to be a new ball game.

It is something like the day arriving when mama bird watches the baby birds flying out of the nest into the blue firmament.

Quite obviously Pakistan has little to gain by continuing to remain in a denial mode regarding its two-decade old covert alliance with Taliban. On the contrary it is better to put the trump card on the table and negotiate for optimal terms of victory. This is one thing.

More important Pakistan has lost interest in the Afghan pantomime. The new priority is to speed up the endgame. China has made the $46 billion Silk Road investments in Pakistan conditional on a sea change in the regional security scenario.

Ambassador MK Bhadrakumarserved as a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service for over 29 years with postings including India's ambassador to Uzbekistan (1995-1998) and to Turkey (1998-2001). He writes the 'Indian Punchline' blog and has written regularly for Asia Times since 2001.

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