Yemeni authorities postponing the execution of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya has brought relief to her family and others, including the political leadership in the southern state, with hopes now raising about the death row prisoner escaping the gallows.

Sources in New Delhi said the government of India has made concerted efforts in recent days to seek more time for Priya’s family to reach a “mutually agreeable" solution with the other party, they said.

The husband of  Nimisha Priya expressed relief and satisfaction on Tuesday over the postponement of her execution and hoped that the united efforts will continue to avert her execution altogether.

Besides her family, the political and religious leadership of Kerala also expressed satisfaction over the development.

The execution was originally scheduled for Wednesday. Priya, who hails from Kollengode in Kerala’s Palakkad district, was found guilty of murdering a Yemeni citizen in July 2017.

“The execution has been postponed. That is good news. We are happy and relieved. I am sure efforts will continue to avert her execution and bring her back safely," her husband, Tomy Thomas, said.

He thanked everyone who worked hard to support the cause.

Thomas said they have a daughter and has been kept away from these developments.

He said he received the message about the postponement of the execution from Priya’s mother.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described the postponement of the execution as both comforting and filled with hope. He said the decision has given Priya more time to seek relief from the death sentence.

Vijayan said development was made possible through the initiative and intervention of eminent Sunni Muslim scholar Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar. Earlier, the cleric’s office had said that last-minute efforts were being made to halt the scheduled execution of Priya on July 16, under the leadership of a Sufi scholar there, at the behest of Aboobacker Musliyar.

“It is the result of tireless efforts by kind-hearted individuals who embody compassion and brotherhood," the Chief Minister said.

He congratulated Kanthapuram and all those who are working for justice for Nimisha Priya, including the Action Council.

The Chief Minister also expressed hope that everyone’s efforts would soon lead to a complete and successful resolution.

Congress MLA Chandy Oommen, who had approached several influential figures, including Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar for intervention, said the latter made sincere efforts on humanitarian grounds.

“Beyond his role as a Governor, he acted as a fellow human being. His sincere efforts will never be forgotten by Kerala and its people. I thank him from the bottom of my heart," Oommen said, adding that the Governor reached out to foreign governments, businessmen, and officials.

Followers of influential Sunni Muslim scholar Kanthapuram Aboobacker Musliyar said he continues to make sincere efforts to stop the execution.

Close confidante of Musliyar, Sayyid Ibrahimul Khaleelul Bukhari Thangal said that there are strong signs the execution may be averted.

Musliyar said he intervened in the matter as a human being. “Islam is a religion that gives utmost importance to humanity, and this is a fact understood and acknowledged by scholars in Yemen,"  he said.

Meanwhile, in a video message to news channels, Samuel Jerome Baskaran — a member of the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, who has been actively working for her release — expressed gratitude.

In 2020, a Yemeni court handed Priya the death sentence and the country’s Supreme Judicial Council dismissed her appeal in November 2023. The 38-year-old nurse is presently lodged in a jail in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital city that is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis.

In Delhi, sources said the government of India has been rendering all possible assistance in the case since beginning.

The Indian side had even explored the option of securing Priya’s release through “diyat" or paying “blood money". But that also ran into some problems, it is learnt.