Pakistan on Wednesday informed India that it would allow a meeting between self-confessed spy Kulbhushan Jadhav and his wife "on humanitarian grounds", a press release issued here stated.

"A 'note verbale' to this effect has been sent to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad today," stated the release. The meeting will take place on Pakistani soil, the Foreign Office's spokesman told reporters.

Jadhav had been arrested on March 3, 2016, through a counter-intelligence operation in Balochistan's Mashkel area for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan, the army had said.

In a rare move, a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) had in April 2017 handed the Indian spy a death sentence after trial for involvement in espionage and sabotage activities in Karachi and Balochistan.

"The spy was tried through Field General Court Martial under the Pakistan Army Act ) and awarded the death sentence. Today, Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa confirmed his death sentence awarded by FGCM," the military's media wing had said on April 10, 2017.

The accused had been provided with a defending officer as per legal provisions, the army stated.

However, the UN's top court on May 18 had stopped Pakistan from executing the death sentence.

Rejecting Pakistan's argument that the court did not have jurisdiction in the matter, the International Court of Justice reasoned it could hear the case because it involved, on the face of it, an alleged violation of one of the clauses of the Vienna Convention, which both Pakistan and India ascribe to and whose interpretation falls under its purview.

"[Meanwhile] Pakistan should take all measures to ensure that Mr Jadhav is not executed till the final decision of this court," the court said.

The court also said Pakistan should inform it of all measures taken in implementation of the order. The case is still sub judice.

Who is Jadhav?

Jadhav was born in the city of Sangli in the Indian state of Maharashtra on Aug 30, 1968, according to a copy of a passport belonging to him under the pseudonym Hossein Mubarak Patel.

The cover name, he explained in a confessional video released by Inter-Services Public Relations last year, was taken for "intelligence gathering for Indian agencies".

A resident of Mumbai's suburban Powai neighbourhood, Jadhav belongs to a family of police officers.

In his statement, the Indian national said he is currently a serving officer in the Indian Navy ─ a claim India has denied.

He added that he joined the National Defence Academy in 1987, and then the Indian Navy in 1991, where he served until December 2001.

After the parliament attack, he said he began to 'contribute his services' towards information and intelligence gathering in India.

"I am still a serving officer in the Indian Navy and will be due for retirement by 2022 as a commissioned officer in the Indian Navy," the spy confessed.

India says he is a former Indian Navy officer.