OK to transfer aid money to Afghanistan

International banks can transfer money to Afghanistan for humanitarian purposes, and aid groups are allowed to pay teachers and healthcare workers at state-run institutions without fear of breaching sanctions on the Taliban, the United States said on Wednesday.

The US Treasury Department offered guidance on sanctions exemptions issued in September and December for humanitarian work in Afghanistan, where the United Nations says more than half the country's 39 million people suffer extreme hunger and the economy, education and social services are facing collapse.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week warned Afghanistan was "hanging by a thread."

The US Treasury said banks can process transactions related to humanitarian operations "including clearing, settlement, and transfers through, to, or otherwise involving privately owned and state-owned Afghan depository institutions."

It also outlined permitted transactions involving the Taliban, which includes the also blacklisted Haqqani Network. These include signing agreements to provide aid directly to the Afghan people, general aid coordination, including import administration.