PESHAWAR, Sept 22: With presidential elections in Afghanistan 17 days away, Afghan political groups opposed to President Hamid Karzai have started a campaign against the polls in various refugee camps of the NWFP.

Opponents of the Afghan government are distributing leaflets and letters in the refugee camps, requesting Afghans to boycott the October 9 presidential polls. Some of the leaflets were distributed in the name of the Taliban in Jallozai refugee camp, asking the people to remain away from this "un-Islamic act".

Sources said that pro-Taliban elements were organizing corner meetings in mosques and hujras, trying to convince Afghans to boycott the voters registration process.

The International Organisation for Migration is set to launch voters registration in the refugee camps in the NWFP, Fata, Islamabad and Balochistan from October 1.

A letter purportedly written by a group of the Ulema of the Shamshato camp near Peshawar have asked the refugees to boycott the presidential elections. The letter, whose copy was available with Dawn, argued that in the civilized world it was the basic right of every citizen to boycott the polls.