Deposed Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif has called for "a change and revolution" in the country to ensure the sanctity of elections as he addressed tens of thousands of supporters in his home town.

Concluding his four-day journey, which began in Islamabad and culminated in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, Mr Sharif was clearly delighted to address those who gathered near the famous shrine of Data Darbar.

After a supreme court decision disqualified him last month for concealing assets, Mr Sharif travelled with a long cavalcade from Islamabad, staying overnight in three different cities.

Authorities stopped all vehicles, except for those of Mr Sharif and ministers, at the entrance to the city because of the massive crowds.

Mr Sharif said that across his journey he saw that citizens had not accepted his disqualification and asked his supporters to await his next move, without elaborating.

Citing his accomplishments, he asked why a prime minister was disqualified when he was moving the country towards progress.

"Does a prime minister making the country developed and prosperous deserve such a treatment?" he said Mr Sharif said that over the past 70 years no prime minister in Pakistan has been permitted to complete their term, making the country and its people suffer.

He said he was ready to give his life to change the destiny of the country and its people.

Mr Sharif has a rocky history with the country's military establishment.

He served three separate stints as premier but never completed a full term in office.

In 1993, then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan removed him on corruption allegations and in 1999, General Pervez Musharraf seized power in a coup.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's south-western city of Quetta was rocked by a suicide bombing near a private hospital on Saturday, which targeted a military lorry, killing eight soldiers and seven civilians.

Kabeer Khan, an explosives expert who examined the site, said the attacker was carrying about 25kgs of "incendiary explosives" on a motorcycle that he rammed into the lorry.

A military statement said the bomb also wounded 25 people, including 15 civilians. It said the explosives sparked fires in nearby vehicles. It added that all the victims were taken to a military hospital.

Pakistani army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said thre attack it was an attempt to mar the independence day festivities.

"Our resolve won't succumb to any challenge," he said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Baluchistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan has seen a low-level uprising by Baloch separatists who want a greater share of the province's mineral and gas resources.

Militant groups there have previously claimed responsibility for attacking security forces.