Thus empowered, the general has been able to exert his influence over foreign policy, in particular in defining the country’s relations with the US, India, and Afghanistan. Even though the US offered $2 billion of assistance to the military to be disbursed over a period of 3-5 years, Kayani has resisted American pressure to move against the Taliban’s sanctuary in North Waziristan, used to stage operations against US and NATO troops in southern and eastern Afghanistan.