KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai was sworn in for a second term on Thursday, vowing to combat corruption and reaching out to his political rivals under Western pressure to restore legitimacy.
Karzai took the oath of office as the US-led war stretches into a ninth year, leaving record numbers of soldiers and civilians dead and with Taliban control extending deeper into the country after an election mired in fraud.

In a wide-ranging speech, Karzai promised action on a raft of problems that have caused consternation among his Western backers, weary of pouring military and financial aid into Afghanistan with little in return.

He pledged action on corruption, drugs, security and unemployment, and said he would call a “loya jirga”—a meeting of political, tribal and community leaders from across the country’s complex social make-up—to bring peace.

“We will call Afghanistan’s traditional loya jirga and make every possible effort to ensure peace in our country,” he said, calling on Taliban “not directly linked to international terrorism to return to their homeland.”

To many Afghans, Karzai’s presidency lacks legitimacy, his government lacks authority and the way in which he took the presidency lacks credibility.

Addressing endemic official graft in a speech delivered before an audience of visiting foreign ministers, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he said: “Corruption is a dangerous problem.”

“We will soon organize a conference in Kabul to organize new and effective ways to combat this problem,” said the 51-year-old Karzai, wearing a traditional hat and colorful cape.

Karzai, who has built his presidential style on building politically expedient alliances with friends and foes, reached out to his chief rival Abdullah Abdullah and another rival, Ashraf Ghani.

“I would like to invite all presidential candidates, including my brother Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani to come together and achieve the important task of national unity,” he said.

“We have to learn from our mistakes and shortcomings of the last eight years,” he acknowledged after Afghanistan’s August 20 presidential election unleashed months of political paralysis because of massive fraud.

After eight years of war and instability, the West has been pushing Karzai to commit to concrete reforms to clean up his government and restore trust.

Karzai was declared re-elected on November 2 by his own officials after a UN-backed commission found nearly a third of votes cast for Karzai on August 20 were fraudulent and his challenger Abdullah abandoned a run-off.

AFP