Relations between Iran and Pakistan improved after the removal of the Taliban in 2002, but regional rivalry continues. Sunni-majority Pakistan sides with fellow Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia in its competition with Shiite majority Iran for influence across the broader Islamic world, although Pakistan is far less ideological than either country, and is more concerned with influence in Central Asia rather than in the Arab world. Iran considers northern and western Afghanistan as its sphere of influence since its population is Persian Dari speaking. Pakistan considers southern and eastern Afghanistan as its sphere of influence since it is Pashto and Baloch speaking like the North-West Frontier Province and Pakistani Baluchistan, respectively. Pakistan expressed concern over India's plan to build a highway linking the southern Afghanistan city of Kandahar to Zahidan, since it will reduce Afghanistan's dependence on Pakistan to the benefit of Iran. It was confirmed that Pakistan built Soviet-style road-mobile missiles, state-of-the-art air defenses around strategic sites, and undertook other concealment measures. Pakistani defense officials have continued to rebuff and deflect American requests for more details about the location and security of the country's nuclear sites. The author provides background on the Islamic nuclear programs in Iran, Pakistan, and India.