This is in response to an opinion piece by Mushfiq Murshed in daily The Nation (of September 25). I have a number of issues with his opinion. First, the headline, Repercussions of Afghan Elections does not capture the essence of his article that is basically focused on the findings that President Hamid Karzais party has won the national elections through fraud and that his main opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, is unwilling to engage in any sort of coalition with him until the results are clarified. The writer only talks about repercussions when he says the only alternative remaining for Afghanistan is to form a unity government. He doesnt say why, though? Maybe it is obvious to others, but it wasnt to me. What would happen on the ground if a unity government is not actually formed and there is no second round of elections? The writer is silent on that, even though, he raises the issue most forcefully. The writer also talks about the Pushtun minority being sidelined in the present set up. President Karzai is a Pushtun so how is the Pushtun population being sidelined, no explanation provided for that either. Most importantly, the writer completely misses the point of this whole election. President Karzai no longer enjoys support of the US government now, as he did during most of former President George W. Bushs eight-year tenure. In the 2002 'State of the Union address, President Bush had hailed President Karzai, the interim President US had helped install at that time in Afghanistan, as a 'hero. He said, 'America and Afghanistan are now allies against terror. We will be partners in rebuilding that country. And this evening we welcome the distinguished interim leader of a liberated Afghanistan, chairman Hamid Karzai. A time came when even President Bush was made to see the foolishness of his ways when he realised, towards the end of his tenure, that US efforts in Afghanistan were coming to naught. That is because President Karzai refused in 2004 to crackdown on poppy cultivation, which is responsible for 70% of the countrys revenues. The cries of a corrupt and ineffectual Karzai government, which were ignored when President Karzai was first installed, have became louder and louder now to a point that President Obama can no longer ignore them. Hence, the tide has turned against Karzai with the western media and politicians all crying 'fraud. We never heard that out cry when President Karzai was installed as a US puppet in the first place? -AMENA. H. SAIYID, Washington, DC, September 26.