Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif Purposely Cuts PM Narendra Modi From SCO Picture

The office of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif faced a wave of criticism on social media on Tuesday after it shared a cropped photograph from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit that removed several world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from the frame while positioning Sharif at the centre of the image. The original photograph was taken before a session of the 26th SCO Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and showed leaders of the ten-member grouping standing together for a traditional group photograph, as is customary at such multilateral gatherings.

The version posted by Pakistan's Prime Minister's Office on social media platform X showed only Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and a Kyrgyz colonel identified as Ularbeek Zarlykovich Sharsheev, alongside Sharif himself. The edited image omitted Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and several other heads of state who were clearly present in the original photograph, with the cropping arranged in a manner that made Sharif appear to occupy the central, most prominent position in the frame. The Pakistan PMO's caption on the post referred simply to Sharif's presence in a group photo with heads of state at the SCO Council of Heads of State Summit, without acknowledging that the image had been altered from its original composition.

In response, Modi's office shared the full, unedited group photograph on his personal account, in which Sharif appears fourth from the right rather than at the centre, alongside a caption simply noting his presence at the Bishkek summit. The contrast between the two versions quickly drew attention online, with social media users circulating the original image alongside the cropped one to highlight the discrepancy. Pakistani government accounts reportedly also shared an edited version of a video from the summit's roundtable discussions in which Modi appeared to have been removed, further fuelling criticism of what many online commentators described as a clumsy and overtly self-serving piece of digital editing by Islamabad's communications team.

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The backlash was swift and pointed, with several commentators and journalists mocking the apparent effort. One widely shared post described the move as a "terrible crop job," questioning why, upon assuming the SCO chairmanship, Pakistan's first notable foreign policy communication was an image edit that removed five world leaders simply to reposition Sharif more prominently. The criticism eventually prompted Sharif to post the full, uncropped group photograph on his own personal account, appearing to walk back the earlier edited version shared by his office's official channels. Some social media users also circulated satirical edits mocking Sharif further, referencing his past remarks about seeking financial assistance from other countries, with edited images showing him holding a "begging bowl."

The episode unfolded against the backdrop of a broader diplomatic subtext at the summit, where Modi used his address to caution SCO member states against employing terrorism as an "instrument of state policy," calling for a coordinated international crackdown on terror financing, recruitment, radicalisation and the provision of safe havens to militant groups. He argued that countries supporting terrorism must be sent a clear message that it cannot be treated as a legitimate strategic asset in international affairs. His remarks came at a particularly pointed moment, as Pakistan formally assumed the SCO chairmanship for 2027, meaning Islamabad will host the grouping's next leaders' summit.

The broader context of tension between the two nations has remained elevated since the April 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed after being singled out based on their religion, an incident that further strained relations between New Delhi and Islamabad. India has repeatedly accused Pakistan of harbouring and supporting cross-border terrorism, a charge Islamabad has denied. Against this backdrop, the photo-cropping episode, while seemingly a minor incident of social media management, was widely interpreted online as reflecting the deeper diplomatic friction between the two governments, playing out publicly on the sidelines of a summit ostensibly focused on regional cooperation among member states.

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