The Government today appealed to President Karzai to appreciate the sacrifices being made on Afghanistan’s behalf by the international community.

Following the Afghanistan leader’s criticisms of British military efforts in the south and the publication of four critical reports last week on the lack of progress in the country, the Government decided to respond in the form of an open letter.

It was addressed to the authors of the reports which included a detailed assessment by Oxfam of the limited achievements in Afghanistan over the last two years.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary and two of his Cabinet colleagues, said every effort was being made to prevent the Taleban from drawing Afghanistan back “into a state where women were stoned, teachers beheaded and the rights of children neglected”.

Mr Miliband, Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, and Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary, made it clear that although they accepted that progress had been relatively slow, there was no question of Britain opting out of its long-term commitment to the country.

In what looked like a direct appeal to Mr Karzai, the three senior ministers said: “We need their \[Afghan\] understanding and commitment to a cause which is seeing huge financial and military efforts, and above all, the sacrifice of men and women, military and civilian.”

The ministers were spurred to make a public response after Oxfam, the US Centre for the Study of the Presidency, the Atlantic Council of the United Kingdom and the National Defense University in America, all published critical reports on Afghanistan.

Foreign Office sources said: “The intention is not to be at all antagonistic towards these organisations because we agree with much of what they reported, but to underline that we remain committed for the long term and that we believe progress is being made.”

Mr Miliband and the two other ministers also denied that Nato had failed in Afghanistan, as had been claimed. “Progress will be measured through milestones and social indicators (health, education etc), rather than ground taken or enemy killed,” the ministers said.

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