A deadline for private security companies to end operations in Afghanistan has been extended by at least two months, President Hamid Karzai has said.
A committee would have until 15 November to draw up a timetable for the closure of the firms, his office said.
Once the timetable is approved, companies would have a maximum of 90 days to disband.
In August, Mr Karzai had given the firms until 17 December to close.
There are more than 50 such companies with thousands of staff registered with the Afghan government, and more unregistered firms are active in Afghanistan.
The BBC’s Quentin Somerville in Kabul says Afghan government ministers warned the president that the country would grind to a halt if security companies were suddenly removed.
When sworn in as president last year Mr Karzai pledged to limit the operations of security firms. Many Afghans believe that their staff often act with impunity.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.