WASHINGTON, 23 December 2021, (TON): The United States formally exempted US and UN officials doing official business with the Taliban from US sanctions to try to maintain the flow of aid to Afghanistan as it sinks deeper into a humanitarian crisis.

It was unclear, however, whether the move would clear the way for proposed UN payments of some $6 million to the group for security.

Local media exclusively reported a UN plan to subsidize next year the monthly wages of Taliban-run Interior Ministry personnel who guard UN facilities and to pay them monthly food allowances, a proposal that raised questions about whether the payments would violate US sanctions.

The Treasury Department declined to say whether the new license would exempt the proposed UN payments from US sanctions on the Taliban.

Having designated the Taliban as a terrorist group for years, Washington has ordered its US assets frozen and barred Americans from dealing with them.

The Treasury issued three general licenses aimed at easing humanitarian aid flows into Afghanistan.