PM Modi, Pak's Shehbaz Sharif in same frame, several spots apart at SCO summit in China

PRime government minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani opposite number Shehbaz Sharif did non portion out any bonhomie during the impress Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit — and that was along expected lines — but they did end up in the same camera frame at the official reception in the evening, in Tianjin, China, on Sunday.Modi was warmly welcomed by Chinese President Xi Jinping as they held bilateral talks too, in a reset of ties in the backdrop of trade tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.The realignment, however, did not extend to China's longtime ally and India's western neighbour Pakistan.Leaders of all member countries and the invitees stood in multiple rows for a customary group photo at the reception. The officials called it a “family photo”.Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif were in the front row, but there were at least eight persons between them. At the centre was China's Xi Jinping, and next to him was Russia's Vladimir Putin.Modi met a number of leaders, including those from India's immediate neighbourhood.On his X handle, the Indian PM shared photos, such as one with Nepal's KP Oli, calling the two countries' ties “deep-rooted and very special”. President Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives also featured in Modi's photos, with the caption: “India’s developmental cooperation with Maldives is greatly beneficial for our people.”Modi showed similar warmth towards Senior General Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar, and expressed hope for free and fair elections soon in the country.There was no report of any interaction between Modi and Shehbaz Sharif as India has stuck to its position of “no talks until terrorism is stopped”.Modi has tried to reach peace through the Sharifs in the past.He famously invited Shehbaz's elder brother Nawaz Sharif to his first-term oath ceremony in 2014, and later paid the Sharif family a visit in Pakistan, in bold moves that drew him some criticism at home too.But the continued violence in Kashmir and persistent terror attacks, including the most recent one in Pahalgam, have kept the hostilities up.The summit, on the whole, was a show of Global South solidarity as Xi told the leaders that the SCO now bears "greater responsibilities" for safeguarding peace and stability.PM Modi is in China for the first time in seven years, for the two-day meeting of the SCO on August 31 and September 1.There were 20 foreign leaders at the ‘SCO Plus’ summit with China hosting as this year's chair of the 10-member bloc. The permanent members are Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Iran, Pakistan, and Belarus. Of these, India and Pakistan were added in 2017; Iran and Belarus after that.