There is, however, no official word on the arrests.

Former ISI official reportedly says people involved in negotiations had started to use talks as a 'political stunt.'

Abdullah, Ghani raise objections, accusing election panels of not addressing their concerns.

In the first round Abdullah won 44.9 per cent of the vote, followed by Ghani with 31.5 per cent.

A new military chief has been appointed but the name will not be disclosed for some time.

Without a clear majority, runoff expected between Abdullah and Ghani.

98 per cent of the votes cast in the polls have been counted, recounting of many polling stations still under way.

The IEC has officially requested to probe into irregularities in 1,446 polling stations of over 6000 polling centers.

He was put under house arrest by UAE authorities earlier this month.

Abdullah Abdullah has 44.47 percent of votes after half the total was counted.