Former World Bank official Ashraf Ghani was sworn in as Afghanistan's new president Monday. The inauguration marks the exit of Hamid Karzai, who ran the country since 2001.
KABUL—Afghanistan's new President Ashraf Ghani took office Monday in the country's first democratic transfer of power, making a pledge to stamp out corruption and calling for peace with the Taliban insurgents who marked the day with a fresh attack in Kabul.
Mr. Ghani, who won the disputed June 14 presidential election, was sworn in at a ceremony in the heavily guarded presidential palace in Kabul, with foreign ambassadors, visiting dignitaries and Afghanistan's most prominent politicians in attendance.
In his first remarks as Afghanistan's leader, Mr. Ghani said his country was "besieged with problems," and called on the Taliban and other militant groups to come to the negotiating table with Kabul. "War is not the way to solve political issues," he said, adding: "Those who believe in the use of force will be dealt with the same way."
The new president inherits a country that faces a robust Taliban insurgency. Militants have seized on a period of protracted political instability to press an offensive around the country, and the withdrawal of foreign combat troops by the end of the year has raised concerns about the ability of Afghan security forces to hold their ground. The country also remains dependent on billions of dollars in U.S. and allied aid that funds the Afghan army and police and keeps the economy afloat.
Streets throughout the capital were closed to most traffic, and helicopters circled over the city as the Taliban sought to disrupt the historic event. A suicide bomber struck a checkpoint on a road that leads to Kabul International Airport, killing four Afghan troops and three civilians, according to Sediq Sediqqi, the spokesman of Afghanistan's ministry of interior. At least five others were injured in the blast.
Afghanistan's new President Ashraf Ghani, left, shakes hands with Afghanistan's Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi as he takes the oath during his inauguration as president in Kabul on Monday. Reuters
In the eastern province of Paktia, insurgents stormed a district headquarters office, local officials said, who said the casualties weren't immediately clear. The Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks, and immediately turned down Mr. Ghani's peace overtures. "Ashraf Ghani was appointed by the Americans in the U.S. Embassy. He is a puppet and isn't entitled to invite us for peace talks," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
Monday's inauguration also marked the end of the 13-year rule by President Hamid Karzai , who was first installed as Afghanistan's leader with American backing in 2001, shortly after the U.S. overthrew the Taliban regime. His ties with Washington and other Western nations turned increasingly sour since then—a breakdown that the new administration in Kabul seeks to repair.
Mr. Karzai was met with a wide round of applause at the inauguration ceremony as he embraced Mr. Ghani and the election's runner-up, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.
"Today in my heart I have the same hopes for the country's future when I started as the head of interim government 13 years ago," Mr. Karzai said Monday, wearing his signature attire, a cloak and lambskin cap. "During our history we have started from zero."
Messrs. Ghani and Abdullah had bitterly feuded over the outcome of the June election, with Mr. Abdullah alleging that victory had been stolen from him through widespread fraud. Following mediation by Mr. Karzai and the U.S., the two rivals agreed this month to share power in a national unity government with Mr. Ghani as president and Mr. Abdullah as chief executive, a position akin to prime minister.
Mr. Abdullah also took the stage at Monday's inauguration to be sworn in to his new post. "Today marks a new season in Afghanistan's history," he said.
The new governing coalition is widely expected to be fragile, however. The two rivals took months to reach an agreement on sharing power and members of both camps still continue to squabble over issues ranging from government posts to office space.
Following Monday's transfer of power, Mr. Ghani's government is expected to quickly sign a bilateral security agreement with Washington that would pave the way for U.S. and allied troops to remain in the country to conduct training and counterterrorism missions after the coalition's mandate expires in December.
The deal, which Mr. Karzai had refused to sign, could be concluded as early as Tuesday. It is tied to continued funding for the Afghan government and its security forces.
In an unusual move for a politician in this traditional Islamic country, Mr. Ghani—a former U.S. citizen who once taught at the Johns Hopkins University—at the inauguration publicly thanked his wife, Lebanese-born Rula Ghani, acknowledging her with an Afghan name, Bibi Gul.
"I want to thank my partner, Bibi Gul, for supporting me and Afghanistan," said Mr. Ghani, looking emotional. "She has always supported Afghan women and I hope she continues to do so." While Mrs. Ghani campaigned for her husband during the election, Mr. Karzai's wife has never appeared in public.
A former World Bank official who spent much of his career abroad and returned to Afghanistan only after the toppling of the Taliban regime in 2001, Mr. Ghani at the inauguration also sought to burnish his credentials as a true Afghan. On Monday, he appeared in a traditional eastern Afghan turban, and promised that his first visit abroad would be a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Ghani has vowed to revive the country's flagging economy and to address widespread corruption that tainted the administration of his predecessor.
Tackling those issues, however, would entail challenging the vested interests of regional strongmen who were empowered during Mr. Karzai's time in office. Many of those individuals will be part of the new government.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal ahead of the election's second round, Mr. Ghani said there was "a lot of fear" in Afghan political circles about his intentions to tackle corruption.
"If you impose a set of rules without the players understanding and adjusting to them, if you go from rugby to chess, it's a hard move," he said. "So we need to understand we are going to be moving from a politics based on muscle to a politics based on reason."
In his inauguration address on Monday, Mr. Ghani said he would also purge the judiciary system of corrupt judges and told members of parliament to stop abusing their influence by pressuring ministers for personal favors.
That request drew an immediate rebuke from Fawzia Koofi, a prominent lawmaker from northeastern Badakhshan province. She said the new president's demand to limit contact between parliamentarians and government ministers would impede proper oversight. "Representation and oversight—these are two constitutional responsibilities the Afghan constitution has given us," she said. "We cannot oversee without meeting the ministers."
An immediate priority for Mr. Ghani will be to address a budget shortfall of some $537 million that is already affecting the ability of the government to pay for some of its civil servants.
Mr. Ghani has already written letters to several heads of state asking for assistance, according to a senior Western official. Now, donor countries are considering the possibility of front-loading money earmarked for development projects to help the Afghan government cover urgent expenses. First, however, foreign officials will want guarantees that new government is serious about addressing Afghanistan's economic woes.
"We can't be sure that all the decisions he makes will be economically sound, but we can be absolutely sure that he will do his best in his own way to deliver an economic recovery," the Western official said.
The salaries of Afghan soldiers and police are covered by a separate fund that is not affected by the current shortfall.
Mr. Ghani has previously pledged to implement ambitious policy changes within his first 100 days in office and quickly form an economic council that will meet weekly.
—Ehsanullah Amiri and Habib Khan Totakhil contributed to this article.