Viable Afghan state may be 'impossible', MPs warn In a report released on Thursday, the committee said ministers "may have to recognise that a viable state may not be achievable." Sir Malcolm Bruce, the committee chairman, said: "Many British soldiers have died or been injured in the attempt to give Afghanistan a better future. The Afghan people want their country to succeed, and the UK should continue to support them with a major aid budget in the country after the troops leave. It is questionable whether DfID has the capacity to build a viable state but we should be able to deliver effective development. The MPs said the Government's own analysis suggested smaller rural development projects had proved significantly more effective than larger government-based work. We recommend the UK Government reconsider the 'viable state' ambition for DfID in Afghanistan, giving greater emphasis to the provision of services and alleviating poverty. The report said that a series of promises to boost the rights of females in the war-torn nation "have not been followed by adequate and specific action and funding." In some aspects the situation for women seemed to have gone backwards over the last five years, undermining improvements seen following the fall of the Taliban regime, the study suggested. A higher priority should be given to girls' education as well as shelters and legal services for women, the MPs concluded, saying the present funding was welcome but "a lot more" should be done. In its latest report, the committee called for the UK to switch the focus of its aid from securing a "viable state" towards directly providing services and anti-poverty action. The MPs said that on a recent fact-finding trip, the situation for women "appeared to us to have deteriorated in some respects since our last visit in 2007." "The women we met on our visit including female politicians were nervous about what would happen when international combat troops departed in 2014," they reported. A DfID spokesman said: "Afghanistan will remain one of the poorest countries in the world for many years to come. But we agree that massive challenges remain. Preventing sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict countries is a priority across Government, which is why last month the Foreign Secretary announced £1 million to support the UN on sexual violence in conflict.