To keep himself in focus, Pak PM Sharif crops out world leaders from SCO summit photo
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif faced criticism after his office released an edited photo from the SCO summit that cropped out several world leaders. The original image included heads of state like Narendra Modi, while the edited version focused on Sharif and a select group of leaders.
Why it matters
The incident highlights diplomatic tensions and the use of media manipulation in international relations to project domestic political strength.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Office on Tuesday shared a photo from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit cropping out several world leaders while putting Sharif in the centre of the image.The original family photograph, taken before a session of the 26th SCO Summit in Bishkek, showed the heads of member states standing together. From left, the photograph featured SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure chief Ularbek Sharsheev.However, the image posted by the Pakistan PMO showed only Xi Jinping, Japarov, Putin, Sharif, Rahmon, Mirziyoyev and Sharsheev.The edited framing keeps Sharif at the centre alongside several prominent leaders, while excluding a number of other participants visible in…
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