The gold-plated gun gifted to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (Image: Handout/Senate of Pakistan)
Towards the end of his Pakistan trip, Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was presented with quite an unusual gift - a gold-plated submachine gun with engravings.
Usually, these token gifts vary from shawls, to mementos and things authentic to the host nation's roots and traditions. However, a German-made Heckler & Koch MP5 came as a surprise for many, reported CNN.
According to the report, this gun developed by German engineers has an elaborate pattern engraved on its gold-plated parts.
Many eyebrows were raised by this unusual choice of gift from a nation that is swamped in debts and is being slammed with accusations of homing terrorists, to the Saudi Prince who himself is at the centre of a major international controversy over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Pakistan PM Imran Khan drives Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman upon his arrival. (Image: AP)
From the Prime Minister himself playing chauffeur to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to receiving him at the airport and the 21-gun salute welcome, Pakistan went overboard to woo the Saudi prince amid its painful economic conditions. Pakistani Air Force jets also escorted Prince Salman's flight when it entered the country's airspace. It couldn't be any grander.
However, the gold-plated machine gun went notches beyond.
Pakistan's hospitality and gold-plated submachine gun has definitely reaped benefits as Crown Prince Salman signed agreements worth $20 billion with Pakistan immediately after landing in Islamabad.
The Crown Prince even condemned the attempts to "politicize" the issue of UN listing regime even as India continues to seek Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar's listing as a global terrorist.
After Salman's Pakistan trip ended with gold-plated gun, he reached India and also talked about $100 billion worth potential investments while also condemning terror attacks, days after the Pulwama terror attack.
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