Britain's foreign minister has denied that international forces in Afghanistan are losing the battle against fighters from the Taliban.
David Miliband wrote in the Sunday Times that Taliban fighters were not taking widespread control of Afghanistan, in response to criticism of the British military in the newspaper.
"Our true mission... has been to use military power to create the space within which Afghan institutions can become strong enough to resist the Taliban. That mission is certainly not impossible," he wrote.
The majority of Taliban activity was concentrated in 10 per cent of Afghanistan's districts, home to only six per cent of the population, Miliband said.
The Taliban "lack the capacity to hold ground," he wrote, in response to claims that Taliban fighters have drawn a noose around the capital Kabul.
'Progress made'
Some of the insecurity in Afgahnistan was due to "growing criminality", including the trade in heroin, Miliband said.
He welcomed the move by defence ministers within the Nato military alliance to allow their forces to work closer with Afghan security forces in order to crack down on drug facilities.
Pointing to the fact that 18 provinces in Afghanistan have been drug-free this year, up from 13 last year, he said there had been "progress. Not enough, but progress all the same."
Miliband said that Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president, had pledged his co-operation to the international effort in Afghanistan, and that so far "he has been true to his word".
The tribal areas of Pakistan are said by the US to be a base for fighters who launch attacks in Afghanistan.
“The role of the international community is not to wring its hands and go home, but to help the Pakistan government get a grip on its tribal areas," Miliband said.
A "massive economic effort with the help of the international community" is requited to help secure the Afghan-Pakistani border regions in addition to "doing better" against suicide attacks, Miliband wrote.
About 7,800 British troops are serving in Afghanistan as part of the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) and US-led operations.