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 The first democratic handover of power in Afghanistan's history
has been far from smooth: the deal for a unity government was
cobbled together after months of deadlock over a vote in which both
Ghani and opponent Abdullah Abdullah claimed victory.
Illustrating the problems facing the new president, a blast on a
road near Kabul airport just before Ghani was sworn in caused some
casualties, a Reuters witness said. A member of the security forces
said a suicide bomber attacked a checkpoint.
Already, there have been signs of tension in the fragile coalition
that will run the country. A dispute over office space and whether
Abdullah would speak at the inauguration led to threats his camp
would boycott Monday's ceremony, an Abdullah aide said.
The inauguration marks the end of an era with the departure of
President Hamid Karzai, the only leader Afghans have known since a
U.S.-led invasion in 2001 overthrew the Islamist Taliban who had
given sanctuary to al Qaeda.
Ghani's first act after being sworn in was to sign a decree creating
the post of chief executive. Abdullah was sworn in to that job
moments later, and he made a speech before Ghani - a departure from
the original program.
In his inaugural speech, Ghani appealed to the Taliban and other
militants to join peace talks and put an end to more than a decade
of violence. Thousands of Afghans are killed each year in the
insurgency.
"Security is a main demand of our people, and we are tired of this
war," Ghani said. "I am calling on the Taliban and Hezb-i-Islami to
prepare for political negotiations."
Hezb-i-Islami is an Islamist faction loosely allied with the
Taliban.
Ghani also vowed to crack down on rampant corruption and called for
cooperation within the coalition government.
"A national unity government is not about sharing power, but about
working together," Ghani said in his speech that lasted for nearly
an hour.
Both foreign backers and Afghans hope that Ghani and Abdullah can
put aside their acrimonious election rivalry and work to improve
life in a country that has suffered war and poverty for decades.
The dispute over Abdullah's speech and the office space was resolved
after late-night meetings with the U.S. ambassador, the Abdullah
aide said. Abdullah's specially created post carries powers similar
to those of a prime minister.
Even if its top figures can work together, the government inherits
massive problems, including fighting an emboldened Taliban who in
recent months has been launching ever more aggressive attacks as
foreign troops draw down.
Ghani must also reset relations with the United States, which have
soured in recent years under Karzai. One of Ghani's first acts as
president is expected to be signing a bilateral security agreement
to allow a small contingent of U.S. forces to remain to train and
assist the new Afghan army and police.
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Karzai has refused to sign it, but both Ghani and Abdullah are in
favor of signing it promptly. GOVERNMENT BROKE
The inauguration ceremony was held at the vast presidential palace
compound in central Kabul. Foreign dignitaries including Pakistani
President Mamnoon Hussain and senior White House adviser John
Podesta were due to attend.
The new government will immediately face a fiscal crisis. Already
heavily dependent on foreign aid, Kabul has asked the United States
and other donors for $537 million to pay its bills until the end of
the year.
A Finance Ministry official acknowledged over the weekend that the
government was so broke that it has been forced to delay paying
civil servants' salaries for October because the treasury did not
have the $116 million needed.
Some hope that Ghani, a longtime World Bank official and former
finance minister, will put his knowledge of international
institutions and development to work in combating Afghanistan's
tradition of corrupt and inefficient government.
A U.S.-trained anthropologist from Afghanistan's Pashtun ethnic
group, Ghani spent almost a quarter of a century outside Afghanistan
during its tumultuous decades of 1980s Soviet occupation, followed
by civil war and Taliban rule.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, he returned to become a senior adviser
to Karzai.
Abdullah remained in Afghanistan during the years of war as a close
confidant to the anti-Soviet and later anti-Taliban fighter Ahmad
Shah Massoud, an ethnic Tajik commander who was assassinated in
2001.
If Ghani and Abdullah can work together well, they could help bridge
longstanding ethnic and political divides, although skeptics fear
the coalition will inevitably be caught up in power struggles and
rivalries between entrenched interests.
(Additional reporting by Abdul Saboor and Jessica Donati; Editing by
Maria Golovnina, Robert Birsel)
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