{
  "id": 4872573,
  "title": "Modi Cropped Out, Sharif Moved To Centre: Pakistan's Photo Politics At SCO Summit",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/modi-cropped-out-sharif-moved-to-centre-pakistans-photo-politics-at",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-01T13:41:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/modi-cropped-out-sharif-moved-to-centre-pakistans-photo-politics-at-sco-summit"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek was intended to showcase unity among its leaders, but a manipulated photo became a flashpoint in the ongoing India-Pakistan rivalry. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was prominently featured in an edited version that removed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other leaders from the traditional family portrait. The Pakistan Prime Minister's Office shared the cropped image, positioning Sharif at the center. Critics deemed the move a petty and unnecessary diplomatic gesture at a multilateral summit meant to project cooperation. Modi released the unedited photograph, showing Sharif fourth from the right. Sharif later shared the complete SCO group photo, highlighting Pakistan's upcoming chairmanship. The controversy overshadowed other moments at the summit, including Sharif's encounter with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the strained India-Pakistan relations over the Indus Waters Treaty.",
  "summary": "A diplomatic group photograph was supposed to capture a moment of unity at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek. Instead, an edited version of that picture turned into a fresh talking point in the long-running India-Pakistan rivalry. The Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office shared a cropped version of the SCO leaders’ photograph in which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}