Afghan president sworn in to second 5-year term

Karzai has come under intense international pressure to clean up his government, and has often bristled at the criticism of corruption leveled at him from Western powers.

After being sworn in to a second five-year term, Karzai said his government was doing whatever it could to implement reforms, and pledged that Afghan forces would be able to take control of the country's security in the next five years.

He also said he believed the "problem of international terrorism" in his country would be overcome.

"We are trying our best to implement social, judicial and administrative reforms in our country," Karzai said. "Being a president is a heavy task and we will try our best to honestly fulfill this task in the future."

The ceremony was attended by about 800 Afghan and foreign dignitaries from more than 40 countries. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and British Foreign Minister David Miliband were among them.

Traditionally rocky relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which share a 1,510-mile (2,430-kilometer) long border, have improved steadily since Pakistan's elected government led by Zardari replaced the military dictatorship of Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Karzai said Zardari's presence at his inauguration was a sign of "good relationship, good brotherhood."

The two leaders last met in Turkey in April. Islamist extremism and border security have topped previous discussions. Afghanistan routinely accuses Pakistan of harboring the Taliban's top leadership, while Pakistan complains bitterly about the increased influence wielded by its hostile neighbor India in Afghanistan.

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