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During the recent 'explosive' meeting between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US special envoy Richard Holbrooke, Karzai is reported to have whipped off his distinctive karakuli cap and slammed it onto the dinner table. "For an Afghan man to do that, it's a big gesture," a local businessman was quoted. "It's like throwing down the gauntlet," the Daily Times quoted an Afghan businessman, as saying. According to reports, Holbrooke suggested holding a second round run-off following reports of massive fraud during the recent presidential elections. Sources said, Karzai reacted very angrily at Holbrooke's suggestion and the meeting ended shortly afterwards. "They were discussing different scenarios and one of them was the possibility of a run-off," the paper quoted a Karzai insider as saying. "That's when there was a misunderstanding. There were strong words from both men." The Obama administration has not hidden its "disdain" for Karzai for running a corrupt government, the Sunday Times had reported. US officials had downplayed the row and said they believed "Karzai's agents leaked a selective version of the meeting to make it look as if he was resisting US pressure to force him to hold a second round when he was already the winner", the report added. However, the spokeswoman for the US embassy in Kabul has denied of any such altercation. She denied reports about Holbrooke storming out of the meeting, and also refused to divulge details of the meeting.

Karzai slammed his karakuli cap on table during explosive meeting with Holbrooke