BRITISH Foreign Secretary David Miliband has given his assessment of the Afghan situation and we know no more than we did before. But strictly speaking, two conclusions could be drawn from his analysis. First, the occupying forces no longer have the strength to resist Afghan determination and resolve to drive the aliens away from their land. Second, his confession that a solution to Afghan conundrum was impossible without Pakistan shows that they have finally realised that we are part and parcel of the Afghan equation. His comments stressing the need to find a political solution of the conflict instead of a military one and the role of the neighbouring countries is a tacit approval of the fact that military means have only aggravated the imbroglio and that finally Pakistan would have to be relied upon as a trustworthy ally to help normalise the situation. But the catch is also obvious. The UK, and the US for that matter, now wants Pakistan to deal with the fallout on its own and suffer the consequences as it did after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. He also amplified our concern that whatever happens in Afghanistan is highly important for Pakistan and its security and therefore hard for it to downplay the threat posed by New Delhis presence there. After all it has been proven time and again that India is using Afghanistan as a launching pad to stage acts of terror in Pakistan. He stopped short of admitting that all this was happening under the watchful eye of the US and NATO. So their acceptance of our indispensability is only skin deep. Though he is of the view that with the help of parliamentarians and making the Karzai government more strong, peace in Afghanistan can be ensured in two years, the ruling class in the saddle today, including cohorts of President Karzai, who largely consist of warlords and thieves, are no remedy to the malaise that plagues the nation. Besides, it is common knowledge that it was years of infighting among them, which provided space to the Taliban. Undoubtedly, the welfare of the Afghans is of trifling importance to the West.