Hacker News Reader

I didn't say it is "ok". I said it is not a crime.

Afghanistan is not yet on the list[1]. If the new government doesn’t uphold its obligations under Doha, there is a good chance it will be added to it in the future.

1. https://www.state.gov/state-sponsors-of-terrorism/

"Afghanistan" (the recently routed government) is not on the list. The Taliban is not a (yet) recognized nation-state in most Western countries. It'll take time for these lists to get updated with recent events.

Considering that the Taliban is/was a hostile party to an active US military operation, starting economic activities with them without explicit government approval is probably not a good idea.

The Taliban (in Afghanistan; the Pakistani Taliban is on both the Treasury and State lists), as well as a very large number of persons and organizations associated with the Taliban separately, is on the Treasury Department OFAC Sanctions list even though for diplomatic reasons the Taliban has not been included on the State Department list of international terrorist organizations.

Trump ended the economic sanctions on the Taliban as part of the peace deal (or at least committed to by Aug 20 2020). Maybe weapons sanctions are still in place though.