China SCO Summit: All eyes are on Tianjin as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, will also share the stage with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. This marks the first time since Operation Sindoor in May 2025 when India struck terror camps deep inside Pakistani that the two leaders will be in the same room.
India-Pakistan conflict
The SCO Summit takes place under the shadow of Operation Sindoor, India’s precision military operation launched on May 7, 2025 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The operation struck nine terror camps and facilities of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizbul Mujahideen across Pakistani Punjab and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Targets included the JeM stronghold in Bahawalpur, the LeT hub at Muridke, and training camps in Muzaffarabad and Kotli. India emphasised the strikes were non-escalatory, avoiding civilian and military infrastructure while focusing exclusively on terror launchpads.
Although both countries agreed to a ceasefire on May 10 after a brief exchange of retaliatory fire, the operation has reset the global politics. Modi has framed it as proof of India’s zero tollerance towards cross-border terrorism. He also warned that India will respond with precision on its own terms if Pakistan fails.
Modi’s message to Pakistan
Prime Minister Modi has in recent months sharpened his rhetoric against Pakistan, particularly following the Pahalgam terror attack in April that killed 26 civilians. Speaking from the Red Fort on India’s Independence Day on August 15, 2025, he declared that India would no longer tolerate “nuclear blackmail” and warned that any future aggression would be met with a response on India’s own terms.
He also criticised the Indus Waters Treaty, calling it unjust, and pledged that rivers originating in India must serve Indian farmers rather than flow to Pakistan. He stated that blood and water cannot flow underlined that India has created a “new normal” in dealing with cross-border terrorism, praising the armed forces for decisive responses.
Sharif on the defensive, Pak economy
For Sharif, the SCO Summit is an attempt to reinforce ties with China, Islamabad’s closest partner. He is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping and other senior Chinese leaders to reaffirm the so-called “All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership.”
Yet Sharif’s position is weakened. Pakistan’s financial crisis has forced it into repeated IMF programmes, while the political fallout of Operation Sindoor has left his government struggling to project strength. His arrival in Tianjin stands in stark contrast to Modi’s recent deals with Japan and UK.
While a formal Modi–Sharif bilateral meeting appears unlikely, their presence in the same forum holds significance.