For years, Pakistan denied helping the Taliban, even as its support for the group was an open secret. Yet Westerners continue to take Islamic supremacist leaders at their word, including the Iranian regime that continues its pursuit of a nuke deal. For decades, Pakistan has been playing a double game and pretending to be an American ally.

In the first week of September, Pakistan’s interior minister Sheikh Rashid admitted that Pakistan did everything for the Taliban, declaring: “We are the custodian of Taliban leaders. We have taken care of them for long.”

In an address to foreign media in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Wednesday Moeed Yusuf, Pakistan’s national security adviser, urged the international community not to repeat past mistakes.