ISLAMABAD: A five-member larger bench hearing the Panamagate on Tuesday grilled the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chief for not taking appropriate steps to probe the ruling Sharifs. The bench regretted and expressed its reservations over the “inaction” of NAB on a reference against the Sharif family. Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, member of the larger bench, inquired NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry whether this “inaction” is because he was indebted to the one who appointed him? “Action speaks louder than words,” he further observed regarding NAB’s conduct. The bench’s anger increased manifolds when the NAB chairman said that he was waiting for the clearance of ‘regulator’. A surprised bench asked who regulates the bureau and where does the regulator come from? “Does regulator come in way when you (chairman NAB) want to carry out anything,” asked Justice Khan curiously. “I have been unable to understand who the regulator is in Pakistan. The word regulator comes from where? Qatari letter also says the word regulator,” sarcastically observed Justice Khosa. He observed that the NAB chairman has absolute discretion. Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Muhammad Irshad told the court that Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s children responded to the notices issued to them by the board in November 2016. He added that Maryam Safdar had denied ownership of any property abroad. He also said the reply has no mention of her being the trustee of London flats. Irshad further informed the court that Hussain Nawaz had stated that he is residing in Saudi Arabia since 2000. Responding to this, Justice Gulzar asked if the FBR has closed Hussain’s file after his response. “What steps did you take after receiving the responses?” Justice Khosa asked the chairman. To this, the FBR chairman said that the board is verifying all the information provided by the respondents. “You have wasted a year doing a task that should have been done in hours,” Justice Saeed observed. Justice Gulzar added that it seems that the board may need years to verify the documents. Rana Waqar, representing FBR, admitted that no immediate steps were taken so far. He argued that separate laws and institutions are available for money laundering cases. Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf would conclude his legal opinion over different aspects involved in Panamagate on Wednesday (today).