The Washington Post Saturday said U.S. officials were encouraged by the arrest of Obaidullah Akhund, the first Taliban taken into custody by Pakistan since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States.

Some officials voiced optimism the Tuesday arrest signals a shift in Islamabad's reluctance to acknowledge the Taliban's presence in Pakistan, the Post said.

The arrest was reported in a Pakistani newspaper Friday and reaction was swift and mixed.

"It's pure coincidence and our good luck that we found ... Obaidullah within 24 hours of Cheney's visit," a Pakistani official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Post. He said more Taliban arrests were to come.

But some analysts said Pakistan has a history of carrying out high-profile raids during visits from Western officials, the Post said.

"The Pakistanis have done it again," said Marvin Weinbaum of the Middle East Institute in Washington. "They've come up with a high-profile person at just the right time."