Afghan president sworn in to second 5-year term

By KATHY GANNON, Associated Press Writers

KABUL – Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai promised Thursday to prosecute corrupt government officials and end a culture of impunity, speaking during an inauguration closely watched by the international community for signs that his administration is moving beyond the cronyism and graft of the past five years.

Karzai has come under intense international pressure to clean up his government, and has often bristled at the criticism of corruption leveled at him from Western powers.

After being sworn in to a second five-year term, Karzai said his government was doing whatever it could to implement reforms, and pledged that Afghan forces would be able to take control of the country's security in the next five years.

He also said he believed the "problem of international terrorism" in his country would be overcome.

"We are trying our best to implement social, judicial and administrative reforms in our country," Karzai said. "Being a president is a heavy task and we will try our best to honestly fulfill this task in the future."

The ceremony was attended by about 800 Afghan and foreign dignitaries from more than 40 countries. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and British Foreign Minister David Miliband were among them.

Traditionally rocky relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which share a 1,510-mile (2,430-kilometer) long border, have improved steadily since Pakistan's elected government led by Zardari replaced the military dictatorship of Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Karzai said Zardari's presence at his inauguration was a sign of "good relationship, good brotherhood."

The two leaders last met in Turkey in April. Islamist extremism and border security have topped previous discussions. Afghanistan routinely accuses Pakistan of harboring the Taliban's top leadership, while Pakistan complains bitterly about the increased influence wielded by its hostile neighbor India in Afghanistan.

Karzai said a conference would be held soon in Kabul to address ways to tackle corruption, and that his government would take its fight against drug trafficking seriously, prosecuting those who are linked to narcotics as well as those who are engaged in corruption.

"Those who spread corruption should be tried and prosecuted," he said. "Corruption is a very dangerous enemy of the state."

The president insisted he would select "expert ministers" capable of providing competent leadership.

Karzai won this year's fraud-marred presidential election by default, after his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out of a runoff, saying it was impossible for the vote to be fair.

During his speech, the president also welcomed Afghans representing all tribes and ethnicities who turned out for his inauguration and said it demonstrated national unity. He also thanked the other presidential candidates who ran in the election and invited them to contribute to the new government.

"People should know that only the votes of the people can legitimize the government," Karzai said.

Seeking to portray himself as a unifying force in the country, Karzai exclaimed, "I am the servant of all the people of Afghanistan, from every ethnicity, every tribe, from every place, from every province — from every age, whether they are small children whether they are old people, women — I invite all the presidential candidates to come and help in serving this nation."

The Taliban, however, said the inauguration ceremony was meaningless and said they would not accept his call for national unity.

"Today is not a historic day. This is a government based on nothing because of the continuing presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan," spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in a telephone call.

"Karzai's call to the Taliban to come to the government has no meaning. He became president through fraud and lies," Mujahid said.

The head of Afghanistan's human rights commission said the speech struck the right tone of reform but that the Karzai government would not be able to succeed without the help of its international allies.

"The speech was good because he said we need action," said Sima Samar. "He can deliver if there is a political will — but not just on his part, also on the part of the international community."