Pakistan parties pick Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar as caretaker PM

• Caretaker setup will have to follow IMF's economic path
• Federal, provincial elections look likely to be delayed

Pakistan's political parties picked Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar as caretaker prime minister, shifting responsibility to his government to follow through on pledges to the International Monetary Fund with general elections expected to be delayed.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz came to an agreement on Kakar, according to a statement from the prime minister's office on Saturday.

Kakar, a senator since 2018, is from Balochistan and a co-founder of the nationalist Balochistan Awami Party. He is said to be backed by the country's powerful army that has ruled the South Asian nation for half of its existence since 1947, Geo television reported.

Sharif dissolved the National Assembly on Wednesday, and under the constitution, elections should be held by mid-November. But speculation is rife federal and provincial polls could be moved to next year after Sharif's government said in early August that they must be based on new population data which shows 16% increase in the past six years.

The elections are intended to bring an end to political volatility weighing on Pakistan since the ouster of premier Imran Khan in last year's parliamentary no-confidence vote. A delay will help Sharif's party and allies in previous government to gain ground among voters after Khan was sentenced to jail on Aug. 5 for hiding the proceeds from the sale of state gifts while in power.

The country has turned to the IMF for a loan to help an economy hit by record inflation and borrowing costs.

The test for Kakar "will be if he follows the IMF path and holds elections in which all political parties participate," said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Lahore-based political commentator.