Pakistan has helped broker the release of an American woman, her Canadian husband and their five children who had been held for half a decade by the Haqqani Network, an Afghan militant group, US officials announced Thursday. The family is on their way back home after their captivity, and their return represents the latest chapter in a perennially complex US relationship with Pakistan. Although a key partner in confronting terrorist groups, US officials have hoped for more cooperation from Islamabad. The Cipher Brief spoke with Daniel S. Markey, a research professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, to find out more about what the hostage release means for U.S. national security and the region as a whole.