NEW DELHI: Left parties CPM and CPI welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise stopover in Lahore to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif while ally Shiv Sena frowned upon the development, asking if the meeting would lead to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim being handed over to India.

The Aam Aadmi Party wondered what had changed to prompt Modi to visit the neighbour and JD(U) said it was “stunned” by the decision, adding that “friendship and betrayal cannot go hand in hand”.

CPM politburo member Mohammad Salim was among the early leaders to tweet in favour of Modi’s visit. “We want consistent, regular dialogues and more people-to-people contact essential for lasting peaceful legacy. Negates hate mongers and terrorists,” Salim said in a tweet.

“As a Leftist, I welcome any step towards peace and cooperation with Pakistan. We should move beyond photo-ops and personal bonhomie,” he said. However, he added that Modi should reveal what happened in his meeting with Sharif.

CPI national secretary D Raja said Modi’s visit would help take the India-Pakistan dialogue process forward. “There have been many strains in our relationship. The ice was finally broken by the NSA-level talks and the visit of foreign minister Sushma Swaraj to Pakistan. Now, that process is being followed up by Modi's visit,” Raja said, adding that dialogue was the only way forward. However, he said the visit to Pakistan was not mentioned in Parliament.

Shiv Sena wondered whether the visit will lead to effective action against cross-border terrorism as well as terror masterminds like Dawood Ibrahim, Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.

“Will Dawood Ibrahim be given to India after today's meeting (between Modi and Sharif)? If this happens, we welcome this visit,” Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut said in Mumbai.

Senior AAP leader Ashutosh said BJP and Modi had opposed talks with Pakistan on the grounds of terrorism. He asked whether terrorism had completely stopped.

“It’s BJP-Modi who have been opposing talks with Pakistan during the time of Manmohan Singh under the pretext of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. What has changed now? We have always been saying (that) engagement with Pakistan is needed but BJP was opposing. Now they should explain -- itna yaarana kyon lag raha hai Modiji (why so much friendship),” Ashutosh tweeted.

JD(U) leader K C Tyagi said, “I am stunned and shocked. At this moment, I can think of beheaded Hemraj.” Lance Naik Hemraj was killed and beheaded by Pakistani soldiers on January 8 last year in Jammu and Kashmir.

Tyagi added, “Nothing is going to improve unless the leaders of Pakistan change their mindset. Pakistan should know that friendship with India on one hand and betrayal on the other cannot go together.”