WASHINGTON, Sept 6: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will visit Afghanistan on Sunday, the Pentagon confirmed on Saturday.

Mr Rumsfeld will meet President Hamid Karzai during his visit and will also address a joint news conference with him, the Pentagon said. The US defence secretary is currently visiting Iraq to assess security needs in the increasingly turbulent country.

Referring to the situation in Afghanistan, Mr Rumsfeld told reporters in Iraq that the situation was improving, enabling thousands of Afghan refugees to return to the country.