Hamid Karzai was sworn in Tuesday as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president, and quickly pledged to crack down on drugs, disarm militias and raise living standards.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at the presidential palace in Kabul, amid security so tight that only on-foot traffic could get anywhere near the site, according to CTV's Matt McClure, reporting from the Afghan capital.

Dressed in a green robe and black lambskin hat, Karzai received a standing ovation as he arrived. The Afghan national anthem was played, and then Karzai placed his right hand on a copy of the Koran, Islam's holy book, and repeated an oath of allegiance.

He then swore in his two deputies, Ahmad Zia Massood and Karim Khalili.

Karzai was elected in October. However, he has led Afghanistan since 2001, when he was picked by Washington to lead the interim government after the overthrow of the Taliban by U.S. and Afghan resistance forces.

In his inaugural speech Tuesday, Karzai pledged to crack down on drugs, disarm militias and raise living standards during his five-year term.

"We have now left a hard and dark past behind us and today we are opening a new chapter in our history in a spirit of friendship with the international community,'' Karzai said, speaking in Pashto and Dari, Afghanistan's two main languages.

He said the fight against terrorism was "not yet over" and called for sustained international aid and co-operation to assist in defeating the ties between drug trafficking and extremists.

"The same co-operation has led to the rebuilding of the Afghan state and significant progress in restoring peace, stability and security to our country," he said.

Among the 150 dignitaries at his swearing-in ceremony were U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Representatives for Canada included Senator Daniel Hays, Speaker of the Senate; Christopher Alexander, Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan, and James Fox, director general of South and Southeast Asia Bureau of Foreign Affairs Canada.

Challenges

Even though Karzai won 55 per cent of the vote in October, he has been accused of being a U.S. stooge -- an image that may have been bolstered by the appearance of Rumsfeld and Cheney.

However, the new Afghan president will need continued international support if he hopes to reconstruct a country that has suffered under 25 years of war.

Karzai, who has survived two assassination attempts, will also face major challenges as he tries to disband armed militias under the control of war lords. Many of these armies are funded by the opium trade, from which most of the world's heroin is refined.

UN surveys show the cultivation of opium poppy in Afghanistan has jumped more than 60 per cent this year.

In the three years since the overthrow of the Taliban, Afghans have adopted a new constitution, and held their first Western-style vote, despite attacks by militants.

About three million Afghan refugees have also returned home, and women and children are back in school and at work -- banned under the previous regime.

With files from The Associated Press