New Delhi: A photograph from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek has sparked a fresh India-Pakistan controversy after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office shared a cropped version of the leaders’ group picture that left out Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other leaders.
The photograph was taken on September 1, 2026, during the 26th SCO Council of Heads of State Summit in Kyrgyzstan. In the original image, the leaders of the SCO member countries can be seen standing together for the traditional group photograph.
But the picture posted by the official Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office account on X was noticeably different. The frame had been cut from both sides, removing Modi as well as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other leaders. The crop also made Sharif appear much closer to the centre of the photograph.
The change did not go unnoticed for long.
Modi and the Indian Prime Minister’s Office shared the full photograph, making the difference between the two versions clear. In the original picture, Sharif is seen standing fourth from the right, rather than in the centre as the cropped version appeared to suggest.
The episode quickly became a talking point on social media, with critics questioning why an official account had chosen to post a cropped version of the photograph. The Pakistan PMO did not immediately give a detailed public explanation for the cropping.
Sharif later posted the complete group photograph himself, showing all the leaders, including Modi. His post came after the cropped image had already attracted considerable attention online.
The photograph controversy comes at a particularly sensitive time in India-Pakistan relations. At the SCO summit, Modi spoke strongly against terrorism and said no country should treat terrorism as a strategic tool. His remarks came in the presence of Sharif and added a political edge to the summit proceedings.
Pakistan also assumed the SCO chairmanship for 2027 during the summit. The Bishkek meeting brought together leaders from the organisation’s member states, including India, Pakistan, China, Russia and Iran.
What might have been an ordinary summit photograph has therefore turned into another episode in the long running India-Pakistan diplomatic rivalry with a simple photo crop becoming the centre of attention.
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