Abdullah content as opposition force

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Former Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah said Wednesday he would not join a new government and instead form an outside opposition movement.

Abdullah challenged Afghan President Hamid Karzai in August presidential elections. He withdrew from a November runoff during the weekend, however, handing Karzai a second term.

Facing allegations of corruption, Karzai pledged to move forward with a government that included his rivals. Abdullah, however, suggested he would push for reform from outside the administration, the Financial Times reports.

"Joining is not on the agenda," he said. "What sort of form or shape my own movement will take, that's something that will be decided in the coming days."

The November runoff was ordered by Afghan election officials who uncovered widespread fraud in the August contest. Abdullah said the decision to award Karzai a second term was illegal, but he declined to push ahead with a formal challenge to the ruling.

His comments come as Washington debates its war strategy for Afghanistan. Military and political leaders are considering a variety of counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism options but said their decision would be based in part on the legitimacy of the Afghan government.