KABUL - The Ministry of Finance (MoF) issued a two-month deadline Tuesday for all commercial establishments in the country to get insurance to be able to operate in the country.

The deadline comes after the Council of Ministers made commercial property insurance mandatory following a fire last month that destroyed about 600 shops in Kabul's main commercial district.

"We recently received the Council of Ministers' decree requiring all commercial establishments to insure themselves against risks, particularly fire," said Fazl Bari Mumtaz, head of the Insurance Affairs Department at the ministry of finance.

No business without insurance will be allowed to operate, he said.

With the insurance sector potentially receiving a big boost, the Afghan insurance industry is looking for government help in strengthening the nascent sector.

"The government should close foreign insurance companies that work without licenses and pay no taxes to the government, because this is one way to strengthen the culture of insurance in the country," said Sakina Bano Ghazanfar, director-general of the Afghanistan Insurance Group.

The Insurance Affairs Department of the finance ministry is working on a strategy to regulate the insurance sector, requiring providers to have back-up insurance so they can pay for their damages of their clients in a timely manner. (Tolo News)