Mustafa Bahadur Rahman

“All of us have been inspired by the spirit of tolerance and respect and hope that the process continues to move forward and improve on this basis.”

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Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina said the “principal aim” of the government’s statement had been to “give a new perspective to the ongoing debate”.

The country previously had a ban on a small group of “extremist” groups, although it lifted that after international outcry over the executions of two bloggers in 2012.

In December, the government lifted a ban on a non-governmental group accused of human rights violations that was later extended after the group released recordings on YouTube of the torture of Rohingya refugees.

A crackdown on Islamist militant groups has seen hundreds of thousands of people displaced from Myanmar in recent years.

The United Nations and the European Union have criticised the country for what they say are excessive public executions and the use of the death penalty.

Myanmar says it executed only 1,000 criminals last year. More than 60,000 people still live in squalid conditions in refugee camps under Myanmar’s control.

At least 2,600 people, mostly Rohingya, have been killed in violence, according to UNHCR figures, with thousands more displaced after the military launched an offensive in Rakhine.