KABUL, 22 March, 2021 (TON): On Sunday, the U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin paid an unannounced visit to the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

The meeting between the two discussed their concerns over the increased violence in Afghanistan, local authorities said.

Austin arrived in Kabul on Sunday, following his two-day trip to New Delhi.

Lloyd Austin said in a tweet, “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 POTUS (U.S. President Joe Biden).”

The Afghan Presidential Palace issued a statement soon after the meeting between the two officials saying, “Ghani and the Defense Secretary stressed that enduring and just peace is the main solution for the current situation in Afghanistan.”

U.S. is supporting Afghanistan in making it possible, it added.

It is expected that the U.S. official will meet other senior high ranking officials during his stay in Kabul.

However, seemingly, Austin’s trip comes as the US is reviewing the Doha agreement, which the country had signed with the Taliban in February 2020, while also keeping all options on the table when it comes to the 1 May deadline for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and reports said that the U.S. administration is to extend the deadline till November but there are no further advancements as yet.