DHAKA: United States defence secretary Chuck Hagel is visiting with American forces in Afghanistan amid a stubborn stand-off between the US and Afghan leaders over a security agreement.

Hagel’s unannounced visit on Saturday lands him in the centre of the chaos, but he has no plans to meet Karzai and may have little impact on the matter during his stopover, reports The Straits Times.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai still refuses to sign the agreement despite increasing pressure from diplomatic and defence officials.

The US has made its position on the security agreement clear and Karzai has tentatively endorsed the deal. Still, he refuses to sign it after it was approved by a council of tribal elders known as the Loya Jirga.

The council said the agreement with the US should be signed by the end of December, as US officials have demanded.

Karzai says he wants his successor to decide after the April 5 elections.

Washington and Nato officials say they want a quick decision on the bilateral security agreement, which allows US troops to stay in Afghanistan after 2014 to do training and some counterterrorism missions.

BDST: 1741 HRS, DEC 07, 2013