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.
The order included a controversial clause that enshrined decisions Musharraf made under the emergency, including his dismissal of independent-minded judges. Such decisions "shall not be called into question by or before any court," the clause said.
Musharraf still faces criticism at home and abroad that the Jan. 8 election will be flawed. The U.S.-backed leader cast Pakistan into turmoil and raised serious doubts over the credibility of the vote, which will determine who will form the next government, by imposing emergency rule Nov. 3.
"Musharraf's so-called return to constitutional rule provides legal cover to laws that muzzle the media and lawyers and gives the army a license to abuse," said Ali Dayan Hasan, South Asia researcher at New York-based Human Rights Watch.
The group urged the U.S. and Britain to pressure Musharraf "to insist on a genuine return to constitutional rule and the restoration of the judiciary."
Saturday's order required judges, including those appointed by Musharraf during the emergency, to take the oath of office again. He swore in the Supreme Court's chief justice, then sat solemnly as the justice administered the oath to the rest of the court.
A leader of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party praised the end of the emergency but said it did not completely dispel concerns about the fairness of the elections.
"It is a good step, but let's see whether the elections are free, fair and transparent," Makhdoom Amin Fahim said.
He did not rule out cooperation with Musharraf if widespread cheating is avoided.
"But so far, it does not appear that the elections would be held in a fair manner," Fahim said. "All the government machinery is being exploited for foul play."
Liaquat Baloch, a senior leader of the opposition coalition Muttaheda Majlis-e-Amal, or United Action Forum, called Musharraf's move a "fraud," saying judges dismissed by the president have not been restored and the constitution was altered under the emergency.
"Musharraf had two targets - getting through the illegal process of his elections and purging the judiciary of independent-minded judges
- and he achieved both targets," Baloch said.
