Dunya News - New Afghan President Ashraf Ghani takes oath
- 10 years ago
KABUL (AFP) - Ashraf Ghani, a one-time US-based academic, was sworn in as new president of Afghanistan on Monday and used his inaugural speech to call for Taliban insurgents to join peace talks after 13 years of war.
The ceremony at the presidential palace in Kabul marked the country s first democratic transfer of power and opened a new era after the rule of Hamid Karzai, president since the Taliban regime was ousted in 2001.
The June presidential election was engulfed in disputes over fraud, but international donors welcomed Monday s inauguration as a key legacy of the costly military and civilian intervention in Afghanistan.
NATO s US-led combat mission will end in three months but the Taliban still pose a serious threat to national stability, having launched several fresh offensives in recent months.
The ceremony at the presidential palace in Kabul marked the country s first democratic transfer of power and opened a new era after the rule of Hamid Karzai, president since the Taliban regime was ousted in 2001.
The June presidential election was engulfed in disputes over fraud, but international donors welcomed Monday s inauguration as a key legacy of the costly military and civilian intervention in Afghanistan.
NATO s US-led combat mission will end in three months but the Taliban still pose a serious threat to national stability, having launched several fresh offensives in recent months.