Afghan leader extends hand to Taliban "brothers"

KABUL (Agencies)

Afghanistan's re-elected President Hamid Karzai handed an olive branch Tuesday to his Taliban "brothers" and urged them to come home as he vowed to form an inclusive government and wipe out corruption after stern warnings from Western supporters.

"We call on our Taliban brothers to come home and embrace their land," Karzai said at a press conference one day after the United States declared him the winner of a five-year term in the country's second presidential election.

Under pressure from U.S. President Barack Obama to wipe out corruption and world leaders to unify the war-torn nation, Karzai used his first appearance since electoral authorities declared him president to pledge a cleaner rule.

Afghan President Karzai

"Afghanistan has been defamed by corruption. Our government has been defamed by corruption," Karzai told a press conference flanked by his controversial vice president Mohammed Qasim Fahim, who is widely accused of rights abuses.

"We will strive, by any means possible, to eradicate this stain."

Karzai was declared president for another five years after the cancellation of a run-off ballot by the country's election commission, which followed the withdrawal at the weekend of his only challenger, Abdullah Abdullah.

Faced with stern warnings from Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other Western leaders, Karzai vowed to form an inclusive government.

"My government will be for all Afghans and all those who want to work with me are most welcome," Karzai said in a nationally televised victory speech.

"There will be crucial changes in our future government. Now we are determined to use all our forces, by any means, to remove this stain (of corruption) from our soil," he said.

Taliban claim success

Taliban statement sent to Reuters

Afghanistan endured weeks of political uncertainty after the Aug. 20 first round was marred by widespread fraud, much of it in favor of Karzai, a crisis deepened by a resurgent Taliban who had vowed to disrupt the vote.

The Taliban termed Karzai's return a farce and vowed to continue its fight to drive foreign forces out of Afghanistan.

The Islamist militants launched sporadic attacks in the first round and vowed to disrupt the run-off. They said their fighters had "paralyzed" the electoral process with their attacks, including an assault on a U.N. guest-house last week in which five foreign U.N. staff were killed.

"Even they were not spared in the U.N. guest house in the heart of Kabul," the Taliban said in a statement sent to Reuters.

Afghanistan's government-appointed Independent Election Commission (IEC) called off the vote on Monday, saying it wanted to spare the Afghan people the expense and security risk of a vote with just one candidate.

There are currently around 67,000 U.S. troops and 42,000 allied troops in Afghanistan. A White House spokesman said a decision by Obama on troop levels was still weeks away.

While under a critical eye from the West, Karzai still has plenty of support, especially in the Pashtun-dominated south and east. Hundreds took to the streets in celebration in the western city of Herat on Monday.

Critics

Kabul resident

But not everyone in the capital was happy with his return.

"Whatever he has done during the last seven or eight years, it will be the same again," Kabul resident Haji Daulat told Reuters television. "So many people died during his term, and prices went up for everything."

Karzai has ruled since U.S.-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in 2001.

"The credibility of the Karzai government is not going to be simply decided by this election, it will now be decided by the actions the president takes over the coming days and weeks," said a Kabul-based Western official who asked not to be named.