Taliban threaten to derail run-off vote

KABUL (PAN): Taliban on Saturday urged Afghans to boycott next month's presidential election run-off and warned to disrupt voting in a repeat of their threat to derail the fraud-tainted first round.

The runoff poll would be held between President Hamid Karzai and his challenger and former foreign minister Dr. Abdullah Abdullah on November 7.

In a statement, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan called upon all the Afghans to abstain from going to polling centres on the day as the election process was being orchestrated by the US.

It said the US wanted to divert the attention of the Afghan people from its failure in the war against the Taliban.

The release lashed out at the Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission and termed it a 'so-called body.'

The statement warned the Taliban fighters will launch their attack on the polling centres to be established for the runoff elections on November 7.

However, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it was not unexpected the Taliban will threaten to disrupt the Nov. 7 run-off election, as they made similar threats for the Aug 20 first-round.

ISAF will continue to assist Afghan National Army and National Police forces plan their security posture for election events.

"Afghan forces will maintain primary responsibility for security of election sites and voters while ISAF forces will assist with the third-tier security for election events as well as continuing our security operations separate from election events," the alliance said in a statement issued here on Saturday. "ISAF is committed to assisting our Afghan partners conduct a secure election run-off."

The UN-backed fraud investigation invalidated thousands of Karzai's votes from the August. 20 first round, pushing him below the 50 percent mark needed to avoid a run-off against Abdullah, the runner-up.

Overthrown by the US in late 2001, Taliban also threatened to disrupt the first round.

Though the Taliban attacks failed to disrupt the election process entirely, but resulted into a low turnout, particularly in the country's volatile south and east.

The statement further warned of closing all the main roads against government and private vehicles on the day before the election.