The Shiv Sena on Monday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Lahore to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. The party said that political careers of leaders who get too close to Pakistan see a decline, PTI reported. In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Shiv Sena also deemed Pakistan's soil “cursed”, saying it has the blood of lakhs of innocent Indians soaked in it.

The party cited examples of attempts made by Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to mend ties between the two countries, saying it had led to their downfall. The party also wondered whether the BJP would have responded as positively had a Congress prime minister made such a trip.

Last Friday, Modi had a two-hour unannounced stopover in Lahore on his way back from Russia and Afghanistan. It was his first visit to the neighbouring country.