Afghanistan's rival presidential candidates reached a breakthrough at the weekend to end the political stalemate that has threatened to engulf the country.

The pair agreed to a complete audit of their contested election and a national unity government whoever wins.

Both sides had claimed victory and mooted setting up their own competing governments following allegations of widespread fraud in the vote.

But instead former finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah agreed to abide by an internationally supervised audit of all eight million ballots.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, whose frantic shuttle diplomacy helped reach the deal, warned that there was still a “difficult road” ahead.

An inauguration on August 2 will be postponed, with Hamid Karzai staying on as president to allow the weeks-long audit to take place.

Each side praised the other for its commitment to a unity government.

Mr Abdullah, who rose to prominence in the Northern Alliance, which battled the Taliban before the US-led invasion in 2001, had a sizeable lead in the first round of voting that was turned around in the run-off amid allegations of vote-rigging.

His supporters, including a number of warlords, talked of establishing a “parallel government,” feeling he had been robbed a second time after his fraud-tainted loss to Mr Karzai in 2009.

The hard task facing the eventual victor was underlined by the security forces’ weekend death toll of 11 as militant attacks continued across the country.

Insurgents raided police and army checkpoints in Laghman province on Saturday night in the deadliest incident, which left six police officers, one soldier and militants dead.