taftan is no problem. came through day before yesterday (14th feb 2010). currently at akbars in bam, iran.
pakistan - from sukkur to quetta to taftan i either had, or was supposed to have escorts. for 120km before dalbandin i had to carry a guard (was not good, bike too heavy and this was worst stretch of road). otherwise from sukkur north i had to follow hilux utes or vans. from quetta i spat the dummy and wrote a note saying i wouldn't hold the pakistan authorities responsible if i got injured or kidnapped, and i was free to go it alone. however i was stopped at every checkpoint, sometimes for over an hour. i only made it from quetta to dalbandin in a day. dalbandin i left at 8am and this was a long day.
iran - from taftan i got to norvosomething. i was held up on the iran side while the passport guy told me to wait for a guard. the guard when he arrived wasn't happy i refused to carry him on the bike, and proceeded to flag down a truck i had to follow for 50km or so. then after about 5 changes of guards (3 others had vehicles) we got to 200km from bam where the police said i had to stay the night (was 8pm pakistan time, i think 9.30 iran time). then more escorts to akbars in bam.
hope this helps.
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