| President Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday that the emergency rule and the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) would be lifted from the country on December 16, and the January 8 elections would be held at all costs under the constitution. He said this during a televised address to the nation, and at a ceremony after taking oath as civilian president to resume his second five-year term as head of the state. “The situation has improved and I fully intend to lift the emergency rule and withdraw the PCO on December 16,” he said in his first televised address after taking oath. |