As the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation takes control of the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul on Monday, leading UK charities have warned that increasing criminality underlines the need  to restore law and order in Afghanistan.

"As we are sure you are aware, the security situation in Afghanistan has shown a marked deterioration in recent months," says a letter sent to UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw by acting director of Christian Aid Martin Kyndt,
AfghanAid's UK director Fraser Mackay, Care International UK's programme director Raja Jarrah, Ken Caldwell of Save the Children and  Tear Fund's Graham Fairburn.

 "In the meantime, radical elements seek to undermine both the transitional government and the reconstruction process.  In addition, local struggles for power, fuelled in some areas by the opium trade, are leading to a growing fragmentation of the country.  While efforts to create a national army, police force and judiciary remain at an embryonic stage, the ongoing climate of impunity means that there is no protection for the individual from the arbitrary use of power," says the letter.  

"Growing criminality is further compounding the insecurity felt by the Afghan population; there are numerous examples of robberies, thefts and assaults even in (supposedly) one of the most secure regions, Herat," it says.

The charities anticipate a multinational NATO force will be in place before the next Loya Jirga (gathering of tribal chiefs) discusses a constitution in October. But  they say there is an urgent need for NATO to take stock and
expand its operations beyond Kabul if it is to make a real difference to the lives of ordinary Afghans.