Claim
As part of the Indus Waters Treaty, India gave Pakistan money — roughly 2.5 billion dollars in today's value — to build its water storage infrastructure.
“हमने आपको पैसा दिया था, हमने आपको वर्तमान समय में लगभग 2.5 अरब डॉलर दिए थे। ... अपना स्टोरेज इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर बनाएं। हमने आपको पैसे दे दिए।”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
India was treaty-bound under IWT Article V to pay £62.06 million into the World Bank-administered Indus Basin Development Fund to help Pakistan build replacement irrigation and storage works. That sum (~$174M in 1960) is worth roughly $1.8–2.5 billion in today's value, so the anchor's core claim that India gave Pakistan money to build its water storage infrastructure is substantially accurate; the '~$2.5 billion' figure is a reasonable inflation-adjusted estimate at the upper end of the plausible range.
Evidence
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Waters_Treaty Under IWT Article V, India made a fixed financial contribution of £62,060,000 to the Indus Basin Development Fund, paid in ten annual instalments, toward the cost of Pakistan's replacement irrigation works. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/239781468100481033/pdf/Loan-0266-Pakistan-Indus-Basin-Project-Development-Fund-Agreement.pdf Indus Basin Development Fund Agreement (World Bank, 1960) records India's fixed contribution used to build Pakistan's replacement works, including link canals, barrages, and storage dams. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.britannica.com/event/Indus-Waters-Treaty Confirms the treaty allocated eastern rivers to India and western rivers to Pakistan, with a transition period and financing arrangement for Pakistan to construct replacement/storage infrastructure. ✗ unreachable · HTTP 403
- https://www.dawn.com/news/2008013 Notes India's ~£62 million contribution formed part of the total Indus Basin Development Fund; the payment funded Pakistan's replacement works rather than being a unilateral gift. ✓ reachable · archived