Pakistan PMO Removes PM Modi From SCO Photo, Shehbaz Sharif Later Posts Full Image

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office seemed to make a U-turn on an official photo of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek on Tuesday.

The Pakistan PMO had initially released a picture of the leaders’ group where Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India was not included. The edited photo was the focus of attention since the original image included other leaders at the summit with Modi.

Later, Sharif posted the entire group picture on his official social media account and PM Modi was featured in the picture.

The difference between the two posts raised questions about the Pakistani PMO’s initial posting of a tweaked photo of the picture.

The full picture with PM Modi standing with the other leaders of the participating nations was already available on his own social media profile.

The SCO family photo was captured during the summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, which was attended by leaders such as Modi, Sharif, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Today, I was honoured to address the SCO Council of Heads of State Meeting in Bishkek as Pakistan assumed the SCO Chairmanship for 2027. I congratulated the Kyrgyz Republic on successfully hosting the Summit and steering the Organization with distinction.

Guided by the Shanghai… pic.twitter.com/1mvRW85klD

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz)
September 1, 2026

The episode coincides with the difficult relationship between India and Pakistan and the summit of the Shanghai Organization (SCO) in the region is in focus with the terrorism issue as one of the top concerns.

The photo tweeted by the Pakistani leadership has since created a buzz on social media, especially as Sharif’s subsequent post brought Modi back into the picture.