New Afghan President Ashraf Ghani takes oath

KABUL: Ashraf Ghani, a one-time US-based academic, was sworn in as the new president of Afghanistan Monday in a rare peaceful transfer or power. He used his inaugural speech to call for Taliban insurgents to join peace talks after 13 years of war.

KABUL: Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai was sworn in Monday a s Afghanistan’s new president, replacing Hamid Karzai in the country’s first transfer of power since the 2001 US-led invasion toppled the Taliban.

A senior adviser to President Barack Obama said the change in leadership would allow Kabul to sign a long-awaited security pact on Tuesday permitting US forces to remain in the country past the end of the year.

Moments after Ghani Ahmadzai took the oath, he swore in his election challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, as chief executive, fulfilling a political pledge he had taken to share power and defuse election tensions that had threatened to spark violence between the country’s north and southeast.

In his first speech, Ghani Ahmadzai called on the Taliban and other militants to join the country’s political process and lay down their weapons. However, insurgent violence on Monday killed at least 12 civilians and police officers.

“We are tired of war,” Ghani Ahmadzai said in a televised address. “Our message is peace, (but) this doesn’t mean we are weak.” Ghani Ahmadzai, a former World Bank official and Afghan finance minister, wore a dark black turban popular in the country’s south as he swore in his two vice presidents and then Abdullah.

Abdullah, a for mer foreign minister, spoke first and thanked Karzai for his service and the people of the country for casting votes in the millions despite the threat of attack from Taliban militants who tried to thwart the election process. “We are committed as one in the national unity government,” Abdullah said. “Our commitment will be fulfilled together as unified team to create national unity.”