ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdish administration of north and east Syria on Thursday criticized the recently-signed draft Constitutional Declaration for underrecognizing the country’s diverse ethnic and religious groups, describing it as “a falsification of Syria’s national and social identity.”

Syria’s Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday signed the country’s draft Constitutional Declaration, over three months after toppling the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Sharaa hoped that the draft sets the country on a path toward development and becomes “a new history for Syria, one in which we replace ignorance with knowledge and suffering with mercy.”

The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) said that the declaration includes “provisions and a traditional style similar to the standards and criteria followed by the Baath government.”

“This action again contradicts the reality of Syria and its diversity. It is also a de facto falsification of Syria's national and societal identity, as this declaration is devoid of the imprint and spirit of Syria's people and its various components, from Kurds to Arabs, as well as Syriacs, Assyrians, and other Syrian national components,” read the statement from DAANES.

The draft, to be valid throughout the transitional the duration of which has been set at five years, identifies Islamic jurisprudence as “a main source of legislation.”

It also states that “freedom of belief is protected, and the state respects all divine religions and guarantees the freedom to perform all their rituals, provided that this does not disturb public order.”

The Kurdish administration stated that Syria today needs the solidarity and unity of its people, emphasizing the need for a constitution that reflects Syrian national diversity.

“This declaration does not represent the aspirations of our people, nor does it truly recognize their authentic identity in Syria. It merely serves as a form and framework that ‘undermines efforts to achieve true democracy in Syria,’ and its provisions are far removed from Syria and the hopes of its people,” it added.

The declaration sets Arabic as the official language of the state, and does not include any mentions of any other ethnicities or religions by name apart from Arab and Islam.

“A true constitution is one shared by all components and agreed upon as the sustainable democratic path for Syria's future and that of its coming generations. We hope that some narrow practices and ideas will not return us to square one, because that will only make the Syrian wound bleed again,” the statement from DAANES concluded.

An 11-day sweeping rebel offensive spearheaded by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Sharaa, brought a five-decade-long rule of the Assad family to an end on December 8.

In late January, it was announced that Syria’s 2012 constitution would be abolished, and a new one would be drafted for the new era in the country.

Kurdish authorities have repeatedly criticized Damascus for the lack of inclusion of other ethnic and religious groups in the transitional process.

Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on Monday signed an eight-point agreement to officially integrate the Kurdish-led forces along with all other institutions in northeastern Syria into the Syrian state institutions.