Cash-strapped Pakistan presents gold-plated assault gun to Saudi crown prince MBS

Mohammed received the surprise during his first official visit to Pakistan, an age-old ally of the oil-rich country.

A gold plated weapon is displayed at the Pakistani stand during Egypt's first Service Defence Exhibition in Cairo on December 3, 2018, at the International Exhibition Center. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)/ used only for representational purpose

New Delhi: Pakistan which recently played host to Saudi Arabia crown prince Mohammed-bin-Salman, has presented the royal highness with a gold-plated assault rifle, at a time when the country’s economy remain severely plagued. While it is not unusual for dignitaries to exchange exquisite presents during foreign visits, but a gold plated gun is an unusual gift from Pakistan. Mohammed received the surprise during his first official visit to Pakistan, an age-old ally of the oil-rich country. Pakistan’s Senate delegation called on the Crown Prince at the Prime Minister’s Imran Khan's House where Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani gifted him a portrait and a gold-plated gun, the News International reported. The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a submachine gun developed by German engineers, and this modified weapon has an elaborate pattern engraved on its gold-plated components, CNN reported. In January, the Saudi Prince Fahd Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the Tabuk Governor, presented a gift of “golf Kalashnikov” and bullets to Imran Khan, in a similar gesture. Saudi crown prince Mohammed concluded his visit to Pakistan and India, amid aggravated tension prevailing in the two countries following terror attacks in Kashmir’s Pulwama carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. Pakistan is under tremendous pressure from international community to take action against the perpetrators of the attack and deny safe havens to terror groups operating from its soil. Saudi Arabia has signed a slew of investment agreements worth USD 20 billion with Pakistan, which will provide a welcome relief to the teetering economy of the cash-strapped South Asian country. Pakistan has conferred its highest civilian award Nishan-e-Pakistan on the crown prince.