U.S. issues new general license on Afghanistan financial transactions - U.S. officials

FILE PHOTO: A displaced Afghan woman holds her child as she waits with other women to receive aid supply outside an UNCHR distribution center on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury on Friday issued a new general license allowing international aid organizations and private firms to conduct commercial and financial transactions with Afghan government institutions.

The new license represents a shift in U.S. policy that had impeded ordinary commerce with Afghan government agencies headed by U.S. sanctioned Taliban and Haqqani Network leaders since the Islamists seized power in August as U.S.-led forces withdrew.