The Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday ignited a major diplomatic storm by sharing an edited group photograph from the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The official image was altered to crop out global leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, leaving only Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Indian Leaders React To SCO Photo Edit
Although Sharif later posted the original photograph from his personal X account, the initial post triggered a wave of condemnation from Indian political leaders, who slammed the move as a petty, disgraceful, and highly unprofessional diplomatic snub. Speaking to ANI about the incident, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde called the act unfortunate and warned Pakistan not to play such games with India.
Eknath Shinde Calls Out Pakistan's Act
“What Pakistan has done is extremely unfortunate. Pakistan has always attempted such things. However, I would say that while they may have removed Modi Ji’s photograph, if Modi Ji wants, he can remove Pakistan from the world picture,” Shinde said. He emphasised that editing out a photograph cannot erase PM Modi from the hearts of 140 crore Indians.
Former MoS MEA MJ Akbar stated that the move turned Pakistan into a laughing stock globally due to deep-seated inferiority complexes. “This is how Pakistan converts itself into the laughing stock at every international conference. That censorship of the photograph is the height of pomposity…Not only has our PM Modi been removed from the picture as if he wasn't there, but the Pakistan PM has been put at the centre of the photo while China's President Xi Jinping has been put on the margin,” he said.
SP Leader Calls Act 'Cheap'
Samajwadi Party Leader ST Hasan also labelled the act cheap and disgraceful, noting that India is far ahead of Pakistan in every aspect. He added that such behaviour only exposes Pakistan's primary focus on spreading terrorism. “This is a very cheap and disgraceful act. Pakistan should not stoop to such a low level. Our country is far ahead of Pakistan in every respect,” Hasan told IANS.
BJP Spokesperson Sadineni Yamini Sharma also slammed the act, highlighting that PM Modi's fearless diplomacy against the terror ecosystem is successfully exposing Pakistan's double standards. “Pakistan have edited the official SCO meet group photo and cropped out PM Modi and also Iran's president from the official group photo… PM’s fearless and strong diplomacy against the terror ecosystem is exposing Pakistan's double-sided terrorism,” Sharma said.