Abdul Hamid Hakimi is a journalist at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.
The US State Department has urged American companies to exercise extreme caution when considering business transactions with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan after a former US official attended the signing of a deal between a Saudi energy group and the hard-line authorities.
The Interior Ministry of the Taliban government confirmed on January 7 that ongoing clashes between officials of a contracting gold-mining company and residents of Chah Ab district in Takhar province that started last week left four people dead and five others wounded.
A woman dies from pregnancy related complications in Afghanistan every two hours due to a lack of access to health care and qualified medics. The situation has got even worse under the Taliban.
