Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry on Friday said it had decided to arrange a meeting between former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav and his wife, in the country “on purely humanitarian grounds”. It has informed the Indian High Commission in Islamabad about its decision.

Jadhav was arrested by Pakistani officials in March 2016 and sentenced to death on espionage charges. In May, the International Court of Justice stayed Jadhav’s execution till the hearing in the case was completed.

Jadhav may be allowed to meet his wife in December, the Hindustan Times quoted unidentified officials as saying, but the reason behind Pakistan’s decision is unclear.

On October 10, Pakistan had appointed former Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani its ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice. Justice Dalveer Bhandari will represent India at the UN court in The Hague.