After a matter of weeks, Pakistan's leader has lifted a state of emergency.

President Pervez Musharraf lifted Pakistan's six-week-old state of emergency and restored the constitution Saturday, easing a crackdown that has enraged opponents and worried Western supporters.

Information Minister Nisar Memon said Musharraf had signed the order lifting the emergency. He called it a "historic day" and said next month's parliamentary elections would cement the country's return to democracy.

"The caretaker government is under oath to hold free, fair, transparent and impartial elections to put the country back on track," Memon said.

Musharraf has insisted that changes he made to the Constitution be left in place, and that his dismissals of judges cannot be challenged or overturned. That is problematic.

However, the elections coming on January 8 have the potential to put Pakistan back on the path to democracy, something that has been in short supply in the country for the last couple of decades (and certainly since Musharraf's 1999 coup). If this election process is transparant and fair, it may be that the former general has done his country a great service, despite having trampled upon democratic principles for years. And if a Bhutto/Sharif coalition emerges in the near future, it may be that Musharraf will find him facing strong opposition in the parliament -- a sign of a healthy democracy if there ever was one.

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