Hello,
Here is a short report about the crossing of the Iran - Pakistan border as of June 2012 for those traveling by public transport.
In Zahedan, you can find shared taxis to reach Mirjaveh (60 000 rials at the time, exchange rate was 22 000 rials for 1 euro). These taxis can be found as indicated in the LP guide (sorry, I forgot the name of the square). I arrived at the border post at 8 am just when it was opening. The crossing was very straightforward.
However, arriving so early was of no use as the local police made me wait in Taftan until 3 pm before assigning to me a policeman that was to accompany me in the bus to Dalbandil (mid-way between Taftan and Quetta). As a matter of fact they didn't allow me to travel directly to Quetta. So I spent the night at the Dalbandil police station.
In Taftan you may have to buy your Dalbandil bus tickets before they assign the policeman to you. At 3pm when they told me I could finally leave Taftan they seemed surprised I didn't have the two tickets yet (you indeed have to pay for your escort's ticket). The owner of the grocery store next to the bus ticket office gave me a good rate for Pakistani rupees (120 PKR for 1 euro).
After your night in Dalbandil you can get into a bus to Quetta. I took one at 9am but there was probably one earlier. A new escort was with me who left the bus halfway through the ride (here again you have to pay for its tickets, return included).
In Quetta I stayed at the Bloomstar (900 PKR the night), quite a nice hotel but the manager is a bit of a crook. He assured to me that I needed a document from the Tribal Affairs Department to enable me to travel by train between Quetta and Lahore. So I had to stay one more night in Quetta to request the document. When I showed up at Tribal Affairs they told me that it was necessary only for people traveling by road. The Bloomstar manager pretended thinking it was mandatory for all foreigners irrespective of their transportation means. I later learnt from another traveler that he had already done the same thing with other tourists, probably to boost his occupancy rate.
There is only one Quetta - Lahore train, at 9 am. Although the journey is supposed to take circa 20 hours, this is never respected. My train took 33 hours to stop 50 km away from Lahore because of an engine failure. I finished the journey by taxi. I took a standard A/C ticket but given that the journey is long and very tiring it can be worth paying (if you can afford it) for a business A/C which will give you a bit more privacy and personal space. Bus is definitely faster and more reliable but probably a bit less safe.
Cheers,
Nicolas
