US defence secretary makes unannounced visit to Afghanistan as pullout decision looms

Joe Biden ‘has not made a decision’, says Lloyd Austin, as White House considers extension for US forces

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Sunday, as a decision on whether to pull out of the country looms.

As per an agreement between the United States and the Taliban signed by the Trump administration, the US committed to removing all troops from the country by 1 May.

US president Joe Biden now needs to decide whether to accept the terms of that agreement, or carry on with US troops in the country at current levels of around 2,500.

Mr Biden said in an interview with ABC News this week that meeting the 1 May deadline would be “tough”, although any extension would not be by a “lot longer”.

Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of state, meanwhile wrote to Afghan president Ashraf Ghani in January saying that the White House had not “ruled out any option”.

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On Sunday, Mr Austin met with the Afgan president and wrote on Twitter: “I’m very grateful for my time with president Ashraf Ghani today.”

“I came to Afghanistan to listen and learn. This visit has been very helpful for me, and it will inform my participation in the review we are undergoing here with the US president,” Mr Austin wrote.

According to the Washington Post, the defence secretary added that senior US officials want to see "a responsible end to this conflict" and "a transition to something else".

"There's always going to be concerns about things one way or the other,” Mr Austin said, “but I think there is a lot of energy focused on doing what is necessary to bring about a responsible end and a negotiated settlement to the war.”

The US president was reportedly presented with a number of options for Afghanistan in recent weeks, which include a six month extension of US forces in the country.

President Ghani and the Taliban, at the same time, have been handed an an eight-page peace proposal for an end to the conflict and political reforms in the country , which both sides are reviewing.

Speaking to reporters before flying to Afghanistan from India, Mr Austin said the US president “has not made a decision”.

The Taliban, in response to Mr Biden’s comments to ABC News this week, warned of consequences if the US did not meet the 1 May deadline for removing all of its forces.

US troops have been stationed since 2001, when American-led forces toppled the Taliban regime in the wake of it’s alleged support for the 9/11 terror on New York and Washington.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press.