KARACHI Senior Advisor to Federal Ombudsman Regional Office Karachi, Syed Anwar Hyder, on Wednesday, expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of Postal Life Insurance Company Limited (PLICL).The performance of the oldest insurance organization in the country has declined drastically after its conversion into a company while its operational expenditure had become ten times more than its revenue, Syed Anwar Hyder noted during the visit of PLICL and said that a detailed report on the dismal state of the affairs will be submitted to the federal Ombudsman secretariat for necessary corrective measures.The senior advisor also expressed displeasure in the absence of the director and other higher management officers at the occasion and summoned them to his office on the next working day along with details of available human resources and financial and operational matters.He said that all the employees working in PLICL belonged to Pakistan Post and their services were placed with the company on deputation while the policyholders were facing hardship in receiving their claims against insurance policies.The PLICL took months to issue the due amount of the insurance claims as after conversion into the company the legacy claims were settled by the finance division and it involves a lengthy and cumbersome process for settlement of insurance claims, he noted adding that the ombudsman secretariat has received several complaints in the regard.He said that Postal Life Insurance in past used to attract thousands of clients every year by offering lower premium amounts, security of deposits and an easier claim process but the PLICL from January to August 2023 has earned a meagre premium revenue of Rs.308813 by selling 122 insurance policies.The company is in the doldrums and losing justification for its existence, the senior advisor noted and suggested that it would be better to merge the PLICL into State Life Insurance Corporation to ensure the protection of the interests of the employees as well policyholders.KARACHI A delegation of the American-Pakistani Public Affairs Committee (APPAC), Wednesday, paid a visit to the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) to discuss trade, investment and economic relations.President FPCCI, Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, in a statement issued here, apprised that the visiting delegation led by Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly Philip Ramos also discussed potential of forging an alliance between trade and business community.Philip Ramos, at the occasion, proposed a number of measures aimed at formalizing cooperation between APPAC, NY State Assembly and FPCCI which included the formation of two high-powered committees to explore the opportunities for enhancing investment and economic cooperation and B2B alliances and matchmaking between New York businessmen and FPCCI.He also assured to lobby with New York State government for humanitarian and economic assistance to Pakistan, look into the advocacy options to facilitate the visa issuance to businessm en from Pakistan. American-Pakistani Public Affairs Committee (APPAC) will facilitate trade promotion activities of FPCCI delegates in the U.S. while New York Chamber of Commerce will be encouraged to form chamber-to-chamber alliance with FPCCI, he stated.Irfan Iqbal Sheikh stated that New York was one of the most significant states of the U.S. for Pakistan's business community as it is a financial and commercial center of a country that accounts for 17 percent of the total trade of Pakistan. As per the latest trade statistics, Pakistan-U.S. bilateral trade stood at $9.4 billion.He stressed that Pakistan deserves enhanced access to the U.S. market for having suffered badly from the war on terror, last year's floods and bearing the brunt of climate change.SVP FPCCI, Suleman Chawla, maintained that Pakistani businessmen have a lot to export to the U.S. but they were constrained due to the delays and restrictions in visa issuance. Therefore, easing and expediting the visa issuance process logically becomes the first step towards enabling chamber-to-chamber and business-to-business linkages between the two countries, he added.