Gordon Brown said he was confident that Afghanistan’s leaders would support the remaining steps of the democratic process, following the decision by Abdullah Abdullah to pull out of the election run-off.

Dr Abdullah was Hamid Karzai’s main rival in the second round of voting due to take place next week.

The Prime Minister said the decision by Dr Abdullah to withdraw was "clearly carefully considered", and he welcomed his readiness to "play a continued role in the national dialogue".

'Along with the whole international community, including our over forty international partners in Afghanistan, we hope to see an Afghan government emerge that responds to the will of the people, that reaches out to all parts of Afghan society, and that is ready to take strong action to meet the challenges that Afghanistan faces.'

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the UK is ready to work in close partnership with a new government in Afghanistan.

Notes for Editors

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