Pakistan PM Office Crops SCO Summit Photo, Places Shehbaz Sharif at Centre

Dil Bar Irshad | September 1, 2026 | 09:57 PM IST | Breaking News | Follow on Google News

Pakistan PM Office Crops SCO Summit Photo, Places Shehbaz Sharif at Centre

It seems Pakistan’s PM office might have tried a little magic trick to make PM Shehbaz Sharif the star of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. And it did not go unnoticed!

PM Sharif’s office shared a cropped picture from a group photograph that was taken at the summit held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The cropped version put Sharif squarely in the center stage – literally – while sidelining some other world leaders.

In the photo published by PMO Pakistan, only Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Kyrgyz Colonel Ularbeek Zarlykovich Sharsheev were seen alongside Sharif.

But, guess who saved the day? Our very own PM Narendra Modi, who shared the original photograph where Sharif was standing at the fourth position from the right. The real picture displayed several other leaders who were mysteriously absent from the Pakistani version.

The discrepancy in the photos soon caught eyeballs on social media, with people questioning the intention behind editing a group photograph in such a manner.

The 26th SCO summit this year gathered leaders from all member nations along with partner and observer countries. They deliberated on important global issues including regional connectivity, economic cooperation and security matters.

Prime Minister Modi took this occasion to address the gathering and urged member nations to consolidate efforts with focus on three core areas namely: security, connectivity, and opportunity.

Modi also asserted that SCO should progress beyond statements of intent towards achieving actionable and quantifiable results.

Founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, SCO expanded over time with India and Pakistan joining in 2017. Iran became its member in 2023 and Belarus will join the bloc in 2024.

PM Modi’s address also came at a time when the Middle East conflict was having repercussions on global trade and supply lines. He reiterated on strengthened efforts amongst SCO nations to counter terrorism, extremism and separatism.

Dil Bar Irshad

Dil Bar Irshad is a seasoned journalist, hails from Jammu Kashmir's Doda, covers political, social, business stories, index stories.