Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s fluent English address to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in Beijing and cordial interaction with world leaders have sparked a debate across the border. 

 

Many Indian netizens expressed envy, wishing their premier Narendra Modi could communicate with world leaders in the same way as the Pakistani PM did. 

 

The meeting between PM Sharif and President Putin was held during their visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of States (CHS) summit a day ago.

 

Sharing a video featuring PM Shehbaz and President Putin on X (formerly Twitter), one Indian user wrote, “So, Pakistan[’s] PM is more educated than ours…India desperately needs an educated PM.”

 

 

Indians were then quick to troll PM Modi in the comment section. “So, what? He [Shehbaz Sharif] can’t laugh in 103 languages like ours [Narendra Modi],” a user quipped.

 

“Pakistan’s PM shows his degree, India’s PM hides his,” said another, referring to the Delhi High Court's recent decision to set aside a 2016 order by the Central Information Commission (CIC) that had directed Delhi University (DU) to disclose details of Modi’s degree.

 

“But of course, he [Shehbaz Sharif] can never compete with Modi Ji’s world-class talent of bursting into laughter at absolutely nothing, pure leadership goals!” mocked another one. 

 

Meanwhile, one person highlighted that Shehbaz “speaks fluently in six languages (Urdu, Punjabi, English, Arabic, German, Sindhi) and has basic knowledge of four others (Turkish, Chinese, Russian, Pashto), making a total of ten”.

 

Indian users also shared many other clips of what they said were Modi's awkward moments with world leaders at the SCO Summit.

 

“Forcefully grabbing other leaders’ hands, and laughing on anything as he doesn’t understand even basic English have become hallmarks of Modi’s disastrous foreign policy. He does this to fool the fools in India! (sic)” said Ashok Swain, professor at Uppsala University, Sweden, sharing Modi’s video showing him grabbing the hands of Chinese President XI Jinping and President Putin and laughing heartily. 

 

 

Another user towed the professor’s comment, asking, “Why is he forcibly holding hands? Both leaders, Putin and Jinping, are looking uncomfortable. This illiterate, mannerless…man brings embarrassment everywhere.”