Awkward handshakes, empty optics: Shehbaz Sharif struggles for relevance as Modi, Xi and Putin steal spotlight at SCO Summit | WATCH

The 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin has brought together 20 world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. While India, Russia and China projected unity and warmth, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was left grappling for attention and appeared increasingly sidelined on the global stage.

The contrast could not have been sharper. Modi and Xi held a high-profile bilateral where they pledged to act as “partners, not rivals”, while Modi and Putin were seen warmly greeting each other, even exchanging a hug before their formal talks. In another moment that quickly drew attention, Modi, Putin and Xi were spotted together chatting and sharing a light moment. Sharif, meanwhile, was left on the margins, absent from these exchanges.

A telling scene came when Modi and Putin walked together in conversation as Sharif stood nearby, reduced to a spectator. The clip of him merely looking on as the two leaders passed by went viral, reinforcing the perception of his political irrelevance.

To make matters worse, a separate video showed Sharif rushing awkwardly towards Putin after the group photograph to shake his hand. The move was mocked online as desperate and attention-seeking. Social media users noted how other leaders carried themselves with composure while Sharif appeared overeager to be noticed.

The optics were damaging enough, but the substance of the summit was no kinder to the Pakistani leader. In his talks with Xi, Prime Minister Modi raised the issue of cross-border terrorism, specifically referencing the Pahalgam attacks that India has blamed on Pakistan. India’s Foreign Secretary later confirmed that Beijing extended “understanding and cooperation” to New Delhi on this issue, a signal that China is willing to echo India’s concerns over terrorism at Pakistan’s expense.