KABUL: Veteran Afghan leader Hamid Karzai was sworn in as president on Thursday, pledging to fight graft and take control of his country’s security before his five-year term ends, after a fraud-marred election left his image in ruins.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari were among dignitaries attending the ceremony in an ornate hall in Karzai’s sprawling Kabul palace.

Outside, the capital was all but a ghost town, with police shutting down all streets and ordering citizens to stay home.

In the south, where the Taleban-led insurgency is at its deadliest since the war began eight years ago, a suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives killed 10 civilians in a crowded market and a car bomb killed two US soldiers.

Karzai, 51, called for reconciliation with enemies and proposed a “loya jirga,” a traditional grand assembly, which under Afghanistan’s constitution can take precedence over all government institutions, including the presidency itself.

“We welcome those who are not affiliated with any terrorist organizations and whose hands are not red with Afghans’ blood,” he said. He described corruption as a menace to the state, and promised measures to fight it.

In an apparent nod to the demands of his Western backers, Karzai pledged to appoint “competent and professional” ministers.

The speech received positive reviews from the West.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it showed Karzai understood the demands being made on him.

“When you’ve been re-elected, it’s delivery time and I think that’s what came through in President Karzai’s speech,” Miliband said. “It’s a very challenging country to govern but you’ve got a very strong, substantial statement today.”

European Union special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Ettore Sequi called the speech “a very good statement which reflected the right priorities the right way.”

Not all were so impressed. In his speech, Karzai offered a job to his election foe Abdullah Abdullah, calling him his “brother.” Abdullah told Reuters he had no plans to accept. “It’s more of the same,” Abdullah said. “He has spoken in these terms — in terms of bringing changes and reform, and fighting corruption, and bringing security and reconciliation — for the last eight years, and the situation has worsened.”