Monday, 01 September 2025
Monday, 01 September 2025
A handshake and a pat on the back for Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; a warm hug for Russian President Vladimir Putin, a firm handshake with Chinese President Xi Jinping; a walk-by without eye contact for Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on Monday was marked as much by gestures as by words.
The carefully choreographed bonhomie played out even as the summit’s joint declaration condemned terrorist attacks in both India and Pakistan.
The Pahalgam “attack was not only a blow to India’s conscience, it was an open challenge to every country, every person who believes in humanity,” Modi said in his address, with Xi and Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif in the audience.
Calling on the SCO members to reject “double standards” on terrorism, Modi asked pointedly: “Can the open support of terrorism by some countries be acceptable to us?”
The Tianjin Declaration “strongly condemned” the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, extending “deepest sympathy and condolences” to the victims’ families.
It also stated that “perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of such attacks must be brought to justice.”
The statement did not name Islamabad, despite India’s repeated accusations that Pakistan provides a safe haven to terror outfits.
In the very next line, the declaration also denounced terror attacks inside Pakistan, including the Jaffer Express bombing and the Khuzdar assault on 11 March and on 21 May, 2025, respectively.
Modi underscored that terrorism, separatism and extremism threaten peace and prosperity globally, and pressed for the SCO to act in unison.
“We must clearly and unanimously state that no double standards on terrorism will be acceptable. We must jointly oppose terrorism in all its forms and colours,” he said, thanking countries that stood with India after the Pahalgam attack.
Still, it was the visuals from Tianjin that drew wider attention — Modi exchanging smiles and handshakes with Xi and Putin, while Sharif was seen watching with a grim expression from the sidelines. The optics of camaraderie among the heavyweight leaders stood in sharp contrast to the guarded wording of the SCO declaration.
Modi exchanging a firm handshake and giving Turkish President Erdogan a pat on the back has also set tongues wagging, given the recent chill in India-Turkey ties after Operation Sindoor, when Ankara openly sided with Pakistan.
