According to Saudi daily Al-Youm, the committee argued that such a step, if adopted, would not violate Islamic law, allowing the emirs of the country’s 13 local administrative regions to begin using the new method when needed.

“This solution seems practical, especially in light of shortages in official swordsmen or their belated arrival to execution yards in some incidents; the aim is to avoid interruption of the regularly-taken security arrangements,” the committee said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where a death sentence results in beheading in a public square.