The wife and mother of an imprisoned Indian naval officer facing the death penalty in Pakistan for espionage and sabotage have arrived in Islamabad for a rare meeting with him.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal said Pakistan allowed Monday's meeting as a "humanitarian gesture."

It will be the first meeting between Kulbhushan Jadhav and his family since he was arrested in March 2016 after entering the country from Iran.

A military tribunal found Jadhav guilty of espionage and sabotage and sentenced him to death, but India obtained an order from the International Court of Justice to halt the execution.

Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations and have fought three wars since 1947.