Ashraf Ghani Sworn in as Afghan's New President

Replacing Hamid Karzai, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai was sworn in as Afghanistan's new President Monday, becoming the first modern leader to take office in a peaceful democratic transfer of power since the 2001 U.S. invasion overthrew the Taliban.

"I will abide by the constitution and other laws and protect their implementation," Ghani said in an oath administered by the chief justice, AFP said, The Telegraph reports. The inauguration ceremony of the new President took place in the Presidential Palace.

As he had pledged to share power and resolve election tensions, he named his opponent and the official runner-up Abdullah Abdullah as the Chief Executive, The New York Times reports. After the June 14 election, the former World Bank technocrat and prominent intellectual Ashraf Ghani and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah claimed to have won. This resulted into three months of political standoff, which in turn proved to be a curse for the country's already-suffering economy. The crisis could have prompted a nationwide unrest.

Ghani and Abdullah both were moderate, pro-Western leaders who have vowed to lead the nation, with "the patchy social and infrastructure", to the path of progress since 2001. However, it must not be forgotten that the Taliban militants still pose a great threat to the country.  

"We made a lot of effort to bring about a long-lasting peace, but unfortunately our hopes did not fully materialise, but I should say that peace will surely come. I will transfer government responsibilities to the elected president tomorrow and will start my new life as a citizen of Afghanistan," Karzai said in his farewell speech to the nation late Sunday.

Meanwhile, Ghani said that the nation is "tired of war". "Our message is peace, (but) this doesn't mean we are weak."