"We are not going to discuss the details, releasing or not releasing of criminals in exchange for the hostages, " said Humayun Hamidzada, spokesman for President Hamid Karzai.
Humayun Gauhar, a friend of Mr. Musharraf who helped him write his 2006 autobiography, said the ex-president had returned to Pakistan because he wanted to clear his name "of these stigmas" and had been confident that he would receive due process from the courts.