Islamabad , Pakistan ( CNN ) -- The relatives of two Pakistani men killed by an American CIA contractor received a total of about $ 2.3 million in `` blood money , '' which helped secure the suspect 's release , a local official said . Raymond Davis killed the two men in Lahore in January , sparking a diplomatic tussle that strained relations between the United States and Pakistan . One of the victims was Faizan Haider , whose wife and mother both acknowledged the compensation in court records . `` I have pardoned the American Raymond Davis who killed my husband on January 27th after receiving a blood money of $ 292 , 375 , '' the victim 's wife , Zahra Shahzad , stated in her affidavit submitted to court . `` I received this money without any pressure or greed . '' The victim 's mother also submitted an affidavit stating the same thing , except for her compensation , which she said was $ 389,443 , court records show . Haider 's legal heirs got a total of $ 1,161,349 in `` blood money , '' records said . His heirs are a mother , a wife , three brothers and five sisters . His mother received the highest amount . Rana Sanaullah , the provincial law minister of Punjab province , told CNN legal heirs of Fahim Shamshad , the other victim , received the same total . Relatives of both victims got a total of $ 2.34 million from the U.S. government , Sanaullah said . Davis has said the shooting occurred when the two men tried to rob him at gunpoint as he drove through a busy Lahore neighborhood . The United States sought his release from a Lahore jail , where he has been held since January on grounds of diplomatic immunity . He was released Wednesday and is now in Kabul , Afghanistan , for medical examination and rest , according to a U.S. official not authorized to speak for attribution . `` Everybody laughs about my intuition but I just knew in my gut that he would be home , '' his wife , Rebecca , told reporters outside their home in Highland Park , Colorado . `` It was n't a pleasant thing , but it could have been so much worse . '' The decision to release Davis was made by the Pakistanis , and there was `` no quid pro quo '' between Washington and Islamabad , the U.S. official said . The official declined to comment on whether there was an exchange of the so-called `` blood money . '' U.S. officials originally said Davis was a diplomat and later revealed that he is a CIA contractor , intensifying the already highly charged situation . The killings sparked an outcry in the Asian nation , a key U.S. ally in the war against al Qaeda and Taliban militants in neighboring Afghanistan . They also led to tensions between the two nations , with Congress warning Pakistani leaders that billions of dollars in U.S. aid were in jeopardy unless he was released . Secretary of State Hillary Clinton applauded the release , but stressed that the U.S. government did not compensate the families . She would not say whether the Pakistanis or a third party did . `` We also have a Department of Justice investigation that has begun into what happened in Lahore . And we 've communicated our strong support for the relationship between Pakistan and the United States , which we consider to be of strategic importance , '' Clinton said during a news conference Wednesday . Davis had been charged with murder and illegal possession of a firearm , the lawyer said . He appeared in a Lahore court after the payment was made and was acquitted of the charges in accordance with an Islamic practice known as diyat , or compensation , the lawyer said . `` Diyat , '' a part of Islamic law that is enshrined in Pakistan 's penal code , allows victims to pardon a murderer with or without being paid `` blood money , '' said Saeed U Zaman Saddiqi , the former chief justice of Pakistan 's Supreme Court . CNN 's Pam Benson , Adam Levine and Michael Martinez , and journalists Nick Paton Walsh and Nasir Habib contributed to this report .
NEW : Victims of both families get a total of about $ 2.3 million , official says . Davis says he shot the two men in Lahore after they attacked him . The killings spark a diplomatic tussle between the U.S. and Pakistan . Pakistan is key U.S. ally in the war against terror .