KARACHI: Leaders of various political and religious parties on Tuesday demanded that the third phase of the local government election in Karachi be held under the `direct supervision` of the armed forces.

The demand was made at a multiparty conference (MPC) held at the residence of Shah Awais Noorani, president of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan with he and Ayaz Latif Palijo of the Q aumi Awami Tehrik in chair.

Senator Shahi Syed of the Awami National Party, former home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz`sArbab Ghulam Rahim, Senator Nehal Hashmi, and Shafi Mohammad Jamote, Jamaat-i-Islami`s Muhammad Hussain Mehnati, PML-Functional`s Jam Madad Ali and Sheheryar Maher, Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf`s Ali Zaidi and others attended the meeting.

The conference unanimously passed a resolution demanding deployment of troops in and outside the polling stations across the city on Dec 5.

They said they rejected results of the previous two phases of the LG elections in Sindh as, they claimed, the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party had `rigged those elections completely` They demanded re-election in 21 districtsof the province, as they claimed that the PPP had got its favourable delimitations and appointed `ghost teachers` of its own choosing to ensure the desired results.

The participants claimed the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the city`s dominant political force, `wants to take Karachi`s mandate hostage like it did in the past`.

The resolution demanded for the termination of the `MQM`s militant wing` so that people could use their right of vote freely.

It also called for a more effective operation of the law enforcement agencies against terrorism and corruption.

It also demanded a biometrics system for the election and arrest of bureaucrats involved in rigging and corruption.