By Bilal Sarwary
BBC News, Kabul
**Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah has accused President Hamid Karzai of dirty tricks for forcing two of his campaign helicopters to land.**Mr Abdullah said that the helicopters were not in a no-fly zone when they were made to land while distributing election literature in Kabul.
He accused the president of using “all the resources of the government to his advantage in this election”.
Afghanistan’s presidential polls are being held on Thursday.
Two of Mr Abdullah’s helicopters were made to land on Monday after it was alleged by the defence ministry that their pilots had illegally crossed into a no-fly zone when they passed over the presidential palace and the Afghan defence ministry.
The issue is particularly sensitive because Mr Abdullah is widely seen as one of Mr Karzai’s most serious competitors in the upcoming election.
A defence ministry spokesman said that it was unclear whether or not Mr Abdullah himself had hired the helicopters in question.
“At this time, it is only known that the Afghan government doesn’t own white helicopters, and that they must belong to a private firm,” he said.
A statement released by the Afghan ministry of the interior confirmed that the incident had taken place and that those on board were arrested for illegally distributing election literature and campaign posters.
Critics have denounced both the forced landing and the response of the Afghan government.