The office of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in an absurd social media stunt, shared a photo from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on Tuesday, but cropped the original photo in a manner that cropped other world leaders from it and placed him in the centre of the image.
The photo shared by the Pakistani Prime Minister only showed Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Ularbeek Zarlykovich Sharsheev, a Kyrgyz colonel.
The photo was taken before a session of the 26th SCO Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and it showed the leaders of the member countries standing together.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in a group photo with heads of States at the SCO Council of Heads of State Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on 1 September 2026. pic.twitter.com/3lsruWHaYV
— Prime Minister’s Office (@PakPMO) September 1, 2026
However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared the original picture and showed that in reality, Sharif was standing fourth from the right, and that five other world leaders had been cropped.
The 26th SCO Leadership Summit brought together 10 member states, 15 partner countries and two observer countries to advance dialogue and cooperation on regional and global issues.
What PM Modi Said At SCO Summit
PM Modi addressed the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan, outlining key actions for strengthening regional cooperation. His remarks came in the middle of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has affected global energy supplies and economies.
The 10-member SCO was established in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became full members in 2017, followed by Iran in 2023 and Belarus in 2024.
PM Modi called for stronger cooperation around the three key pillars of the SCO – security, connectivity and opportunity. He stressed the need to move beyond vision and work towards outcomes that can be measured.