Only a handful of people were arrested for political activism during the revolt, Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq was quoted as saying by the official MENA news agency. The report did not clarify whether the remaining prisoners would be released later.
Shafiq also said he was trying to determine the fate of young people who went missing during the revolt.
A leading Egyptian rights activist said on Tuesday that hundreds of people went missing during the protests, alleging that some are being held by the military, which took over the country after Mubarak's resignation.
Gamal Eid, a lawyer who heads the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, said: "There are hundreds of detainees, but information on their numbers is still not complete ... The army is holding detainees."
His group said in a statement that it was still receiving "information relating to the disappearances of many youths and citizens."
Meanwhile, a judicial council entrusted with proposing constitutional changes to allow free and fair elections in the country has nearly finished its work, MENA quoted its chairman as saying. The council was formed by the military on Tuesday and given 10 days to draw up the proposals, which will be put to a referendum.
Tareq Al-Bishry, the head of the committee, expects "the completion of the amendments within the coming few days", MENA quoted him as saying. Bishry said he would give a public progress report on Sunday.
In another sign of tangible political progress after the revolution, an Egyptian court has licensed an Islamic party after its application for legal status was turned down four times by the former Egyptian government.
Abu Al-Ila Madi, the founder of Al-Wasat Al-Jadid (the New Center) said that the Supreme Administrative Court licensed the party Saturday after approving its latest appeal. Madi said the ruling was "a positive fruit of the Jan. 25 revolution of the freedom generation."
The party was founded in 1996 by activists who split off from the Muslim Brotherhood and sought to create a political movement promoting Islam.
Meanwhile, the military, after promising to deliver civilian rule in six months, warned workers using their new freedom to protest over pay that strikes must stop, in a move businessmen said Saturday could have come sooner.
The military council, under pressure from activists to speed up the pace of reform, has adopted a soft approach since taking power after the downfall of Mubarak, but said late Friday that labor unrest threatened national security.
It issued the order, effectively banning strikes, after millions celebrated across Egypt with fireworks, dancing and music to mark a week since Mubarak's ouster.
"I think it is a very late decision. The army should have given a firm statement for all kinds of sit-ins to stop, immediately after Mubarak stepped down," Sami Mahmoud, a board member of the Nile Company food distributor, said Saturday.
"Though this statement should have come way earlier, I think the army was just allowing people to take their chance to voice their demands and enjoy the spirit of freedom," said Walid Abdel-Sattar, a businessman in the power industry.
"It's not the time for it", said Saturday's banner headline in the state-owned Akhbar Al-Yom newspaper, urging the nation to end work stoppages which were causing "a state of paralysis to our national economy" and losing Egypt crucial revenue. Banks, which have been closed this week because of strikes that have disrupted business, are due to open on Sunday, the first day of the working week in Egypt. The military believes this is an important step toward restoring normality.
