LAHORE, SEPT 26 – The recent revelations of off-the-book meetings of opposition politicians with the military leadership has kicked off a storm in the country’s politics. Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid on Saturday again fired a broadside at the PML-N and referred to Nawaz Sharif as an “influence agent of India”.

The country’s political landscape heated up after the PML-N supremo – during his address to the participants of last week’s All Parties Conference (APC) – said the opposition’s struggle was not against Imran Khan but against a “parallel state” which had imposed an incapable person on the country through a rigged election process.

It was Rashid who had first disclosed that senior politicians from the opposition PML-N had met the army and intelligence chiefs twice in two months. The revelation came on the heels of a scathing outburst by the PML-N founder against the security establishment at a multiparty confab of the opposition in Islamabad earlier this month.

Nawaz’s speech received widespread coverage in the Indian media due to its strong anti-establishment undertones. Prime Minister Imran Khan said Nawaz had done India a favour by criticising the national security institutions of Pakistan.

Addressing the media in Lahore, Rashid said the PML-N leader has gone further than Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain in trying to create a divide in the country.

“He [Nawaz Sharif] tried to create a divide in the country and addressed [the APC] as an influence agent of India.”

Known for his political prophecies, Rashid added that he sees a rift forming in PML-N and breakaway factions may appear soon. He also claimed that the attack on an office of the national accountability watchdog “was planned in London”.

Rashid went a step further today and asked Nawaz questions on subjects on which no information is available in the public realm. “How many times did Nawaz meet Osama bin Laden and how many donations did he get?”

He also asked “who gave the address of Ajmal Kasab’s house to foreigners?” Kasab was the only terrorist caught alive by Indian security forces after the Mumbai attacks.

The minister then advised the PML-N founder to talk about court [cases] rather than the vote.

On Friday, in another talk with the media, the railway minister had claimed that he was holding back much more which, if revealed, would spell doomsday for many.

The railway minister had added that no one from PPP or PML-N would resign from their position and if they do, elections would be held in that constituency.

The multiparty conference last week had agreed to mount a movement to oust the PTI-led government of Premier Imran Khan, but political analysts believe tiding over mutual distrust among the opposition parties might be a challenge.