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WASHINGTON (PAN): The UN Security Council would listen to first-hand information from the special envoy for Afghanistan about the current situation in the country, in particular the August 20 elections and allegations of fraud.

The 15-member body has scheduled a special meeting on Afghanistan on September 29, said Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, in her capacity as Security Council president for the current month.

"That will be an important and timely session, in that we expect for the first time the UNAMA leadership to provide, in its report to the council, benchmarks for progress, to measure progress in Afghanistan and, obviously, an assessment of the elections," Rice told reporters about the UNSC agenda for September.

Not clear what the fate of election results would be on September 29, Rice said: "We will obviously be very interested in UNAMA's assessment of the situation and any recommendations that the Special Representative brings to the Council."

Responding to a question, Rice said it would be premature to comment on what the situation would be on September 29. "We are obviously awaiting the final results.  We are awaiting the results of the investigations that are ongoing by the Independent Electoral Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission into allegations of fraud."

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