Quick Summary and add-on post Quetta

Timings:
Expect to dedicate 4 days from the border crossing to leaving Quetta
Day 1 - cross the border at Taftan and sleep in police station
Day 2 - escort to Quetta
Day 3 - getting the NOC in Quetta
Day 4 - leave Quetta

NB this does not take into account weekends when the NOC office is closed.

Potential accelerated version (but unlikely)
If you cross the border early enough on day 1 and they have enough people, the escort may leave Taftan the same day meaning you sleep in Dalbandin that evening. Day 2 would get you to Quetta and potentially you could if you’re very lucky and the timings are right, get the NOC the same day, but highly unlikely. Day 3 you could leave Quetta. Again, this is unlikely, planning for 4 days is more realistic.

Another accelerated version could be asking to get the NOC for departure the same day - for example you are a foot passenger and want to get a train the same day (if there’s one leaving that day), you could actually leave Quetta on day 3.

Leaving Quetta:
If you are taking a bus or train from Quetta, you will be escorted to the station to buy the ticket. Once you are on board, you are free from the escort.

If you are in your own vehicle, you will be escorted to the border of Balochistan. By motorbike, this took us a whole day. We left at 8.30 am, changed escort countless times all day long, but it was faster than the escort the day before because it was just us, no foot passengers obviously and no slower trucks.
We crossed out of Balochistan at 6pm and had two blissful hours of freedom without escort (including a 30 minute stop where the road was closed because they were rigging up an electricity pylon). An hour before DI Khan, we ran into a police checkpoint and they insisted the region, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is not safe enough for us to roam without escort. The escort and usual changes of lead pick-up took 2.5 hours but we made it to DI Khan where they set a guard up outside our hotel room all night. The next day, we were escorted to the border with Punjab, just a few hours away, and then set free again just beyond the border after the checkpoint (which took a while to get through).

All in all, Taftan to Islamabad by motorbike took us 5 days (actually 6 because we took an extra day’s rest in Quetta to recover from illness). Realistically, I don’t think you can expect to go much faster given the speed of the escorts, the potential pairing with slower vehicles, the time it takes to get the NOC etc

Also keep in mind the toll that journeying in this way takes on your body. We both succumbed to illness and our energy levels were taxed to the max because of the long hours spent on the bikes.

SUPER SUMMARY
- Crossing the Iran/Pakistan border at Taftan to arriving in Islamabad (Punjab) where you are free from escorts takes AT LEAST 5 DAYS.
- Prepare for long days, low speeds, countless changes of escort vehicules, no proper meals for days, very hot temperatures, breakdowns that leave you stranded in the sun with no shade.
- Pack more water than you think you will need, and food.
- As a motorcyclist, you will suffer more than anyone else, demand breaks (or longer breaks) to have time to rest and eat, even if they push back and it delays the other travellers (who can eat while driving).
- Go with the flow, you won’t get rid of your escorts until you reach Punjab (at least this was the situation in June 2022).