World applauds new government as step towards peace

An anxious world welcomed the inauguration of Afghanistan’s interim government as a hopeful first step toward an elusive peace, with some countries backing their applause today with pledges for economic aid and renewed diplomatic ties.

In neighbouring Pakistan, President General Pervez Musharraf congratulated Hamid Karzai, the 44-year-old Pashtun tribal leader who will preside over the new coalition government, and promised support for the daunting task of rebuilding the war-shattered nation.

‘‘The people of Pakistan wish and pray for the success of the new administration,’’ a Foreign Ministry statement quoted Musharraf as saying.

Pakistan has earmarked six billion rupees, or £69 million, for reconstruction projects and humanitarian assistance and has removed restrictions on the export of goods that may be needed for rebuilding Afghanistan, it said.

Musharraf, who has supported the US campaign against Afghanistan, also said Pakistan would reopen its embassy and consulates in Afghanistan ‘‘as soon as possible’’.

India took that step today, reopening its embassy in Kabul after a five-year hiatus.

Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, who represented India at the swearing-in ceremony in Kabul, hoisted the Indian flag atop the embassy building, which had been shuttered since 1996 after Afghanistan’s Taliban militia came to power.

On the streets of Malaysia, a mostly Muslim country whose government has been critical of the war in Afghanistan even while condemning the September 11 attacks, the inauguration was welcomed as a sign that the bloodied nation’s wounds might finally be given a chance to heal.

‘‘This is really a cause for hope and happiness,’’ said Mohamad Faizal Adam, 27, a sales executive in the capital, Kuala Lumpur. ‘‘The people in Afghanistan have been suffering for so many years.’’

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has argued that innocent people are the main victims of the war in Afghanistan and that the fighting will not eradicate the roots of terrorism.

The inauguration made the front pages of newspapers in Japan, which has pledged to host an international conference in Tokyo next month to raise money for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

‘‘We want to see this as a sign of national reconciliation,’’ said an editorial in the Yomiuri newspaper, Japan’s most-read daily. ‘‘All factions have embarked together on a voyage toward rebuilding their impoverished country.’’

But the editorial also warned that the ‘‘indifference of the international community’’ was partly to blame for the instability, poverty and other conditions that turned Afghanistan into a hotbed for terrorists, and urged world leaders not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

After being sworn in as prime minister of Afghanistan’s interim government, Karzai inducted the 29 members of his cabinet including two women.

But his coalition government faces a staggering challenge: overcoming ethnic divisions and mutual suspicions to reconstruct a nation unprepared for a long, hungry winter, its infrastructure devastated and its coffers emptied by the fleeing Taliban.

China said its promised emergency aid of 30 million yuan (£2.28 million) would help all factions to build on Afghanistan’s first peaceful transition of power in decades.

‘‘The Chinese sides genuinely hopes that all parties in Afghanistan can, putting the country and peace first, really implement agreements and bring about reconciliation,’’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said.

In Canberra, the Australian government also committed £344,000 to the new interim government, and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer pledged to consider further assistance.

‘‘This highlights the impressive progress that has been made in a very short time towards restoring that country to peace and stability,’’ Downer said of Karzai’s coalition.