Updated

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry will allow the mother and wife of an Indian naval officer facing the death penalty for espionage and sabotage to visit him in prison.

The ministry said in a statement that visas were issued to the women on Wednesday. They are expected to fly to Islamabad on Dec. 25, where they will meet with Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was arrested in 2016 and later sentenced to death by a military tribunal.

Pakistan and India are bitter rivals that have fought three wars since gaining independence in 1947.

Jadhav's wife, who has not been named publicly, has petitioned for him to be spared the death penalty. Authorities have not issued a final ruling on the sentence.