United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Afghanistan on Monday for meetings with President Hamid Karzai and leading opposition figure Abdullah Abdullah, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said. The visit comes after a deadly attack on a U.N. guest house last week that killed five foreign U.N. staff, and after Abdullah withdrew on Sunday from the second round of presidential elections. "I was already on my way when I heard the news that Dr. Abdullah Abdullah had opted to discontinue his participation in the second round. I am sure that due process and observance of the rules will prevail and the Afghan Independent Election Commission will apply constitutionally correct procedures," Ban said at a press conference in Kabul. He said the goal of this visit "was to insist that everything be done to ensure the security of all staff, Afghan and internationals. We have suffered a grievous attack, but our work will continue. Many Afghans seem to be worried about what lies ahead, whether international support will hold firm." "I repeat again, we at the United Nations will continue to stand with the people of Afghanistan in their quest for stability and peace," he said at a press conference in Kabul. Ban also met with his special representative and other U.N. staff, nine of whom were wounded in the attack on the guesthouse on October 28. Two Afghan police officers were also killed, and a number of police, passers-by and residents were injured. Ban had been due to start a European tour on Monday that will include stops in Greece and Britain. --SPA
