How Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif struggles to be relevant at the SCO Summit

All eyes are on Tianjin, the port city in China as it hosts the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. This year’s meeting has garnered notable interest from the world as it sees the convergence of 20 world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and even Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif.

Many watchers would say that Day 1 of his Tianjin visit was a success for PM Modi. On the sidelines of the SCO Summit, he held a bilateral with China’s Xi Jinping in which they pledged to be “partners, not rivals”. Moreover, visuals showed great camaraderie between Modi, Xi and Russia’s Putin.

But what about Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif? It appears Day 1 has been a bumpy ride for him — from having technical fumbles to being ignored, Sharif is struggling on the international stage.

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A photo speaks a thousand words

On Day 1 of the SCO Summit, China’s Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan held a banquet for the leaders in attendance which was followed up by the customary ‘family photo’.

In the traditional photo session, PM Modi was seen in the front row, while Russian President Vladimir Putin stood alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping. Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also featured in the photograph.

What was particularly notable was that while Modi and Sharif were both in the front row, they were at different ends of the photo with multiple people in between them — at least individuals were placed between them.

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This photo assumes significance as its marks the first time since India’s Operation Sindoor precision strikes that PM Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Sharif have shared the same platform.

Amidst the banquet, PM Modi also met a number of leaders for individual chats, but the Ministry of External Affairs stated that there was no report of any interaction between Modi and Sharif as New Delhi has maintained the position of “no talks until terrorism is stopped”.

And when it comes to visuals, there was a poignant moment on Day 1 of the SCO Summit — when PM Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are seen shaking hands and sharing a light conversation while Pakistan’s Sharif is walking past the trio.

Soon after, Modi took to X to share glimpses of the interaction, posting two photographs of himself with President Putin and President Xi. “Interactions in Tianjin continue! Exchanging perspectives with President Putin and President Xi during the SCO Summit,” he wrote, highlighting the friendly engagement between the three leaders.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and other Heads of States/Heads of Governments pose for a group photograph at the Shanghai Cooperation Council (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China.

(Source: DD News) pic.twitter.com/UftzXy6g3K

— ANI (@ANI) September 1, 2025

Sharif’s dash for Putin mocked

Day 1 of the SCO Summit turned embarrassing for Sharif after a video showed him running to Putin to shake his hand after a formal photo session. It has even led to massive trolling of the Pakistan PM on social media.

In the viral video, as Putin walks with Xi Jinping, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif comes up from behind and abruptly reaches out to shake Putin’s hand.

While other leaders showed composure, Pakistan PM Shehabaz Sharif came running to Putin to shake his hand.... pathetic attention seeking behaviour.

Xi Jinping realised what Shehbaz was going to do, so he looked the other way and ignored him 😭 pic.twitter.com/NAEeDw2oyY

— Incognito (@Incognito_qfs) August 31, 2025

This has led many on social media to troll the Pakistani PM. One social media user wrote, “While other leaders showed composure, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif came running to Putin to shake his hand… Pathetic attention-seeking behaviour. Xi Jinping realised what Shehbaz was going to do, so he looked the other way and ignored him.”

Another wrote: “Pakistan PM insulted at SCO Summit by host Xi himself.”

This moment also evoked memories of the 2022 SCO Summit where Sharif once again embarrassed himself while holding a bilateral with Russia’s Putin. At the time, the Pakistan PM struggled with his headphones, with Sharif even being heard saying, “Can somebody help me?” And this prompted a small chuckle from Putin.

Putin chuckles as Pakistani PM struggles with his headphones at SCO Summit. pic.twitter.com/OOGoUdXbJP

— Tehran Times (@TehranTimes79) September 16, 2022

Xi extends support to India on cross-border terrorism

What could be seen as the biggest rebuffing of Shehbaz Sharif at the SCO was Beijing’s support to New Delhi when the two sides spoke on cross-border terrorism.

On Sunday as Prime Minister Modi and China’s Xi Jinping sat down for talks, the Indian leader raised the issue of cross-border terrorism, saying that India and China are “victims” of terrorism and should work together to combat the “scourge” of cross-border terrorism.

Speaking to reporters after the meet, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated that terrorism was flagged by Modi as a “priority” issue, and, in particular, the Pahalgam terror attacks that India has blamed Pakistan.

“The prime minister outlined his understanding very crisply and very specifically. He outlined the fact that this is a scourge that both China and India have been victims of, and India is still combating this menace, and he asked for China’s support on this particular issue,” Misri said at the media briefing held in Tianjin after the talks.

He further added that that India has received China’s “understanding and cooperation” at the SCO on the issue of countering cross-border terrorism. This has led many to believe that the SCO declaration, to be released on Monday, may include a reference to terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

With inputs from agencies