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They have bridged their initial differences and frictions and are now coming together to fight terrorism, Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, told United States lawmakers on Wednesday.
Testifying before a Congressional hearing, Holbrooke identified them as the three most powerful political elements of Pakistan today.
"I am quite convinced that the three most powerful elements in Pakistan political life all share a common enemy, a common problem, and are coming together," Holbrooke said.
"Those three elements, of course, are President Zardari and his PPP (Pakistan People's Party) party, Nawaz Sharif and his brother, Chief Minister of the Punjab, and their party and the Pakistani Army. All three are united, and public opinion in Pakistan has begun to coalesce around common opposition," Holbrooke said in response to a question.
Holbrooke argued these three powerful political elements of Pakistan do have a firm grasp of the severity of the situation.
"But they may have gotten there a little more slowly than you and other Americans might have liked," he said.