Karzai pledges to fight graft

Veteran Afghan leader Hamid Karzai was sworn in as President yesterday, pledging to fight graft and take control of his country's security before his five-year term ends, after a fraud-marred election left his image in ruins.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari were among dignitaries attending the ceremony in an ornate hall in Karzai's sprawling Kabul palace.

Outside, the capital was all but a ghost town, with police shutting down streets and ordering citizens to stay home.

In the south, where the Taliban-led insurgency is at its deadliest since the war began eight years ago, a suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives killed 10 civilians in a crowded market and a car bomb killed two US soldiers.

Mr Karzai, 51, called for reconciliation with enemies and proposed a "loya jirga", a traditional grand assembly, which under Afghanistan's constitution can take precedence over all government institutions, including the presidency itself.

"We welcome those who are not affiliated with any terrorist organisations and whose hands are not red with Afghans' blood," he said. He described corruption as a menace to the state, and promised measures to fight it.

A UN-backed probe found that nearly a third of votes for Mr Karzai in the August 20 election were fake. While Mr Karzai had been expected to win anyway, the extent of the fraud in his favour severely damaged his credibility at home and among Western nations with troops fighting to support his government.

He has since faced tough pressure from Western leaders to clamp down on widespread corruption and replace former guerrilla leaders and cronies with able technocrats in his new government.

His inauguration for his second five-year term comes against the backdrop of an ever more-deadly Taliban insurgency, doubts over his legitimacy after the tainted election, and demands from Western donors he address rampant corruption and mismanagement.

In an apparent nod to the demands of his Western backers, Mr Karzai pledged to appoint "competent and professional" ministers.

Publicly, Western officials mainly lauded the speech.

"The inaugural speech that President Karzai gave today (yesterday) set forth an agenda for change and reform. He was particularly strong on the steps that he intends to take regarding corruption," Mrs Clinton told reporters after the speech. "We think that the issue now is to ensure that it is implemented, that we see results."