.png){kind=small}
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
1 hour ago
2
ARTICLE AD BOX
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan's Shehbaz Sharif kept their distance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, with a banquet photo showing them facing away from each other and a family photo placing them far apart. The distancing came against the backdrop of India's Operation Sindoor after April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, underscoring tense ties.
At the SCO summit in Tianjin, photo captures Modi and Sharif turned away from each other. (Source: ITG)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Sep 1, 2025 07:51 IST
At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif were photographed with their backs turned to each other, a moment that drew attention amid the diplomatic gathering. In a picture posted by PM Modi’s official X handle, Sharif is seen in the background while Modi highlighted his “productive exchange of views” with Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on energy, security, healthcare and pharma cooperation.
The optics of distance were also visible a day earlier during the customary family photo session of SCO leaders, where Modi and Sharif stood far apart in the group lineup. The strained atmosphere between the two nations comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor, India’s May 7 cross-border strike following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which has kept India–Pakistan relations on edge in recent months.
The summit also featured a rare and formally announced meeting between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Modi conveyed India’s commitment to improving ties with China while flagging the need to maintain border stability and narrow a near-USD 100 billion trade deficit, a conversation freighted with the unresolved 2020 Galwan clash and subsequent military standoff.
The SCO meet unfolded amid turbulence in global trade triggered by US President Donald Trump’s tariff measures. His administration has imposed a universal 10% tariff and steep China-specific duties, with a temporary truce in place until November 10.
The US has also imposed full 50% duty slapped on Indian goods, including textiles, gems, jewelry, shrimp, carpets and more, impacting an estimated USD 80 billion of exports, roughly two-thirds of trade with the US. India’s small exporters are scrambling to diversify into markets in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Gulf, while the government has vowed it will “not bow down” and is advancing export promotion efforts.
- Ends
Published By:
Priyanka Kumari
Published On:
Sep 1, 2025
Tune In
English (US) ·