Taliban refuses to accept Karzai national unity call

"Today is not a historic day. This is a government based on nothing because of the continuing presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan," spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a telephone call.

"Karzai's call to the Taliban to come to the government has no meaning. He became president through fraud and lies," Mujahid said.

The head of Afghanistan's human rights commission said the speech struck the right tone of reform but that the Karzai government would not be able to succeed without the help of its international allies.

Earlier, a suicide bomber detonated a vest packed with explosives in a crowded market in southern Afghanistan yesterday, killing ten civilians and wounding 13, a provincial police chief said.

Uruzgan province police chief Juma Gul Himat said the bomber's vest exploded after he was fired on by troops while trying to attack a convoy of Afghan security forces. A media officer for Nato-led forces confirmed that ten civilians had been reported killed in a suicide bomb strike in the area.

Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai will have to prove his legitimacy in the next five years by reaching out to his opponents, reforming a government many view as corrupt and incompetent and quelling a revived Taliban insurgency. He retained power after a planned run-off vote was scrapped when his only rival, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew citing fears about the credibility of the election process.

Strained relations

Eight years after Washington picked him to lead an interim government following the overthrow of the Taliban, Karzai's relationship with his Western backers has become increasingly strained.

Widespread fraud in the August 20 first round of voting, most of it in favour of Karzai, further soured ties.

As a Pashtun — Afghanistan's largest ethnic group — the 51-year-old Karzai has strong support in the south and east and had been widely expected to win the second round vote.

But after his flawed win Karzai came under pressure to negotiate with Abdullah, who has emerged as a national figurehead in the post-election drama. Abdullah has repeatedly refused to join the government, choosing to stay in opposition. With pressure growing from Western nations whose troops are fighting to support his government, the next big test for Karzai will be the formation of his cabinet.

Washington wants Karzai to include able technocrats rather than rely on former guerrilla leaders and cronies who threw their support behind him before the August vote.

To make matters worse, Karzai faces a resurgent Taliban, who have taken advantage of the post-election turmoil to launch increasingly bold attacks. Five foreign UN staff were killed in a suicide attack on a Kabul guest-house in October.

Karzai himself has survived at least three assassination attempts, the most recent in April 2008 while attending a military parade close to the presidential palace in Kabul.

Balding with a trim salt-and-pepper beard, Karzai is a chief of the Popalzai tribal group of the Pashtuns and hails from a royalist family with a tradition of public service.

Timeline:Key Afghan rulers

Mohammad Zahir Shah: In Power 1933-1973 The last King of Afghanistan, Zahir Shah was overthrown while abroad by his cousin, Mohammad Daud Khan, in 1973.

Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai: 1986-1992

Najibullah was the fourth President of Afghanistan. He remained in virtual detention in Kabul, until in 1996 Taliban militiamen stormed his compound and killed him before hanging his mutilated body on a lamp post.

Burhanuddin Rabbani: 1992-1995

An active Islamic scholar, Rabbani became President of the Islamic Council of Afghanistan in 1992, declaring himself president the same year. He was stripped of power after the city fell to the Taliban in 1995.

Mullah Mohammad Omar: 1995-2001

Omar was a village mullah before stepping into politics. As the Taliban's spiritual leader, he was given the title ‘commander of the faithful'.

President Hamid Karzai: 2001-

Karzai fled to Pakistan after the Soviet invasion, helping to fund and arm mujahideen fighters from exile. After first supporting the Taliban, he later worked from exile to organise an anti-Taliban opposition. After three years as interim leader, Karzai was elected to a full five-year term as the first directly-elected President in the country's history.