At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, a subtle yet telling diplomatic moment unfolded when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged warmly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, leaving Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visibly isolated.

Videos and photographs from the summit highlighted the strong camaraderie among Modi, Putin, and Xi, while Sharif, standing apart in both the official “family photo” and in informal pre-session interactions, appeared sidelined.

The optics not only reinforced India’s elevated diplomatic stature within the grouping but also underscored Pakistan’s marginalisation at a time of heightened Indo-Pak tensions.

The exchange between Modi, Putin, and Xi is significant against the backdrop of intensifying global power shifts. As U.S. President Donald Trump escalates trade pressures on India, New Delhi’s proactive engagement with Russia and China sends a signal of strategic balancing in Asia.

Modi’s decision to share photos with Putin and Xi, accompanied by positive commentary, further amplified this narrative of trilateral rapport. Pakistan, by contrast, faced a perceptible diplomatic snub, with its leader excluded from the centre stage of high-level exchanges.

This marginalisation comes after a particularly tense period in South Asia, following the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam earlier this year that killed 26 people. India directly blamed Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba’s offshoot, The Resistance Front, for the violence, placing Islamabad on the defensive in international forums.

The attack reignited long-standing hostilities, bringing the two nuclear-armed nations close to open conflict before a ceasefire halted escalation.

While Islamabad has publicly credited the truce to U.S. mediation under President Trump, New Delhi has asserted that it was Pakistan’s military leadership that directly sought a ceasefire from India.

The Tianjin episode illustrates how regional hostility and global alignments are shaping diplomatic optics. Modi’s visible embrace of strategic partners like Russia and China contrasted sharply with Sharif’s isolation, signalling the shifting power equations within the SCO.

For Pakistan, its closer positioning with Washington may have come at the cost of influence within Asian groupings dominated by Beijing and Moscow, leaving it vulnerable to being diplomatically overshadowed by India.

The images from Tianjin, therefore, carry weight far beyond symbolism—showcasing the recalibration of power, alliances, and narratives in South and Central Asia.

Based On NDTV Report