24/10/2009 Pakistan's army said Saturday it had captured Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud's hometown after fierce fighting as it pressed a major offensive against the group into a second week.
Security sources said they had overrun Kotkai overnight after three days of aerial bombardments which had underlined the huge challenge facing the military in taking on the Taliban in their tribal heartland in the northwest.
 
Although figures are impossible to verify, the army says more than 140 militants and 20 troops have been killed in the week-long army offensive to date.
While no casualty figures were immediately available from Kotkai, several security officials said the fighting there was over.
There has been no word on the whereabouts of Mehsud since the operation began.
The army launched the drive last Saturday, pitting around 30,000 troops against estimated 10,000-12,000 Taliban fighters where Al-Qaeda-linked militants are believed to have plotted attacks against the West as well as in Pakistan.
 
Meanwhile, the Taliban called for a boycott of the upcoming run-off in Afghanistan's fraud-tainted presidential election as top US and UN envoys predicted fewer problems with the second round.
While Western military chiefs say they can ensure the November 7 poll is conducted in a peaceful atmosphere, the warning from the
Taliban threatens to further deflate turnout, which was less than 40 percent first time round.
"The Islamic emirate (of Afghanistan) once again informs all the people that no one should participate in this American process and should boycott the process," said a Taliban statement emailed to AFP.
 
The run-off pits former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah against incumbent Hamid Karzai, who came to power in late 2001 after the Taliban were toppled by US-led forces.
Almost one million of Karzai's share of the preliminary results -- around one-third of all votes cast for him -- were eliminated for fraud, cutting his lead to below the 50 percent threshold needed for outright victory.
 
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) has begun sending voting materials, including ballots with just two names and indelible ink, to polling stations across the country.
 
Speculation persist that Karzai and Abdullah could reach a deal that will negate the need for the run-off -- perhaps through a power-sharing deal or with Abdullah bowing out of the second presidential race.
But in an interview with CNN on Friday, Abdullah ruled out joining Karzai's government should he lose the run-off.
 
The run-off has been proclaimed as a chance to revive Afghanistan's democratic ambitions and bring some credibility to the election process, supported and bankrolled by the United Nations to the tune of 380 million dollars.
The UN's envoy to Kabul, Kai Eide, also said he expects less ballot-stuffing than in the first round, though he gave no details of how this will be achieved other than by sacking some 200 officials implicated in the August 20 fraud.
 
Richard Holbrooke, US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, told reporters Friday he believed a second round would be less troubled by fraud or security concerns.
He added that General Stanley McChrystal will have more troops to deploy than he had for the first round.
McChrystal has requested extra 40,000 troops to add to the more than 100,000 already in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban under US and NATO command.