Claim
After 13 years of negotiations and World Bank mediation, the Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 by Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistani President Field Marshal Ayub Khan.
“13 साल तक बातचीत करते रहे हम लोग... फिर 1960 में वर्ल्ड बैंक की मध्यस्थता हुई... उस वक्त भारत के प्रधानमंत्री... जवाहरलाल नेहरू... पाकिस्तान के राष्ट्रपति फील्ड मार्शल अयूब खान... दोनों ने साइन किए।”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
Most of the claim is correct: the Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 under World Bank mediation and was signed for India by PM Jawaharlal Nehru and for Pakistan by President Ayub Khan, who had assumed the rank of Field Marshal in 1959. However, the '13 years of negotiations' figure is inaccurate; primary and reference sources consistently describe about nine years of talks (World Bank mediation from 1951-52 to the September 1960 signing). The overstated duration makes the otherwise accurate account misleading on that detail.
Evidence
- https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar/brief/fact-sheet-the-indus-waters-treaty-1960-and-the-world-bank World Bank fact sheet: the treaty was signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations, with the Bank as mediator. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Waters_Treaty States the treaty was signed in Karachi on 19 September 1960 by Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistani President Ayub Khan, negotiated with World Bank mediation. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.worldbank.org/en/archive/history/exhibits/The-World-Banks-Role-as-Mediator-in-the-1950s World Bank mediation began 1951-52 with inaugural meetings in Washington on 6 May 1952; negotiations ran about eight to nine years until the 1960 signing. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.britannica.com/event/Indus-Waters-Treaty Confirms 1960 signing, Nehru and Ayub Khan as signatories, and World Bank-brokered negotiations spanning roughly a decade. ✗ unreachable · HTTP 403