Kabul - Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday vowed that his new government would eradicate corruption and unite the country after months of political chaos, while offering an olive branch to Taliban insurgents.
Under pressure from US President Barack Obama to wipe out corruption after a turbulent election process steeped in fraud, Karzai used his first appearance since electoral authorities declared him president to pledge a cleaner rule.
"Afghanistan's image has been tainted by corruption. Our government's image has been tainted by corruption," Karzai told a press conference flanked by vice-president Mohammad Qasim Fahim, who is widely accused of rights abuses. Continues Below ↓
'We know they are empty words'
"We will strive, by any means possible, to eradicate this stain."
Karzai was declared president for another five years after the election commission, whose chief he appointed, cancelled a run-off ballot following the withdrawal of the only challenger, Abdullah Abdullah.
Karzai has been urged by a number of world leaders to ensure his next government can command the support of all Afghans, as Obama mulls whether to pour tens of thousands more US troops into battle against the Taliban.
"The future government will be a government that reflects all the people of Afghanistan.... We hope that no one feels themselves isolated from this future government," he said.
The 51-year-old president, whose warm relations with the West have cooled due to corruption and spiralling insecurity, also urged his Taliban "brothers" to "come home and embrace their land".
The Taliban insurgency is now at its deadliest, contributing to record US fatalities eight years since the militia was driven out of Kabul by a US-led invasion, paving the way for Karzai to take power.
The Islamists ridiculed Karzai as a "puppet" of the West, however, and snubbed his overtures.
"We do not attach any value to these offers of peace by Karzai as we know they are empty words," Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesperson, told AFP.
Obama and UN chief Ban Ki-moon led world powers in congratulating Karzai, but the US president called for "a much more serious effort to eradicate corruption" and a "new chapter" in cooperation between the two countries.
"This has to be (the) point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter based on improved governance," Obama said he had told Karzai by telephone.
"The truth is not going to be in words, it's going to be in deeds," added the US president.
The European Union called Tuesday on Karzai to form a credible national unity government.
"The European Union welcomes the conclusion of the presidential electoral process and congratulates President Hamid Karzai on a second term in office," the EU's Swedish presidency said in a statement.
"A credible and competent government, promoting national unity, must now be formed without delay."
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana also congratulated Karzai and expressed himself "confident that President Karzai will form as soon as possible a government that will be fully committed to addressing effectively the challenges Afghanistan is facing".
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose country has the second largest contingent of troops in Afghanistan, urged Karzai "to take immediate action against corruption".
Hu Jintao, president of Afghanistan's giant neighbour China, congratulated his Afghan counterpart and expressed hopes for peace in the nation.
Abdullah quit the contest on Sunday, saying there were no safeguards against a repeat of widespread fraud that resulted in the rejection of nearly a quarter of votes cast in August.
Karzai's anointment by the Independent Election Commission sought to draw a line under two months of political chaos in the conflict-ridden nation, where 100 000 Nato and US troops are fighting the Taliban.
Ban met Karzai and Abdullah amid a concerted diplomatic push to bring a quick end to the paralysis, which has undermined Western efforts to cultivate democracy in Afghanistan.
IEC chief Azizullah Ludin, a Karzai appointee who oversaw the fraud-riddled first round, said the decision had been made in line with the provisions of Afghan law and was "consistent with the high interest of the Afghan people".
There had been widespread unease about staging the November 7 run-off poll.
First-round turnout was as low as five percent in some areas and the Taliban had threatened fresh attacks. - AFP
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