which accused the proceedings of lacking “judicial independence, transparency, and due process guarantees”.

“The United States is concerned by the sentencing of Pakistani civilians in a military tribunal and calls upon Pakistani authorities to respect the right to a fair trial and due process,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on X, the social media platform.

This US statement follows similar concerns expressed by the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU), which also questioned the use of military courts to try civilians.

The EU was the first to react to the December 21 military court verdicts, issuing a statement the next day expressing “concern” over the sentencing and adding that the verdicts appear “inconsistent with the obligations Pakistan has undertaken under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)”.

The EU also highlighted Pakistan’s beneficiary status under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), which allows Pakistani exports to enter European markets duty-free — a reference that was widely seen as a subtle warning that a perceived failure to meet international human rights obligations could jeopardise this status.

So, why has Pakistan punished civilians through military courts, how has Islamabad responded to the criticism from the US, UK and EU, and what’s next — for Pakistan and its relations with the West?

Today, December 24, Syria's de facto new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, held a meeting with leaders of rebel groups. 

A meeting between al-Sharaa and the heads of the groups “ended in an agreement on the dissolution of all the groups and their integration under the supervision of the ministry of defence,” the administration said in a statement.

According to Al Jazeera, the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces group, supported by the United States, did not join the agreement.

It is worth noting that just last week, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir announced that the Ministry of Defense would be reorganized with the involvement of former rebel groups and officers who had stopped serving dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Syrian uprising

In November, the civil war in Syria intensified. Rebel groups managed to overthrow Bashar al-Assad and take control of the country.

As a result, Mohammed al-Bashir became the new prime minister, and de facto, Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, took charge of the country.

The rupee dropped to 84.9325, inching past its prior low of 84.93 hit in the previous session.

"Natural dollar demand (from importers), lack of supply" is "squeezing" the rupee, a currency trader at a bank said.

Overall, the bias is "definitely" towards a higher dollar/rupee, and "suspect that you are seeing a bit of build up in long positions" before the Fed.

The rupee, already pressured by worries over India's growth outlook and a well-supported dollar following Donald Trump's election victory, had to contend with data this week that showed trade deficit surged to a record high in November.

The combination of the wider trade deficit alongside a slowdown in capital inflows means that the rupee will face a large balance of payments (BoP) deficit this quarter.

Based on FX reserves data, the BoP deficit is tracking at $38.9 billion from Oct to Dec. 6, according to IDFC First Bank, a turnaround from a surplus of $9.6 billion in the September quarter.

The rupee is expected to weaken to 85.50 by March 2025 and 86.00 by September 2025, the bank said.

Other Asian currencies were mostly lower on the day with the Indonesian rupiah leading losses with a 0.4% decline. The dollar index was little changed at 106.9 ahead of the Fed's policy decision due during U.S. market hours.

The Fed is widely expected to deliver a 25 basis points cut and focus will be on whether policymakers will make any hawkish revisions to their interest rate projections going into next year.

The leader, who sometimes goes by the militaristic pseudonym Abu Mohammed al Jolani, has been making every effort to portray himself as a reasonable and peaceable head of state. He traded military fatigues for Western business suits and bent his speeches toward the virtues of tolerance and mercy.

“Syria must remain united, and there must be a social contract between the state and all religions to guarantee social justice,” Sharaa told the Druze community, according to a Tuesday statement on the HTS Telegram account.

Sharaa has lofty goals to accomplish in the new Syria and he needs the West's support.

He is hoping to facilitate the return of millions of Syrian refugees who fled the country out of fear of former President Bashar Assad's regime. He is also requesting that various sanctions placed on Syria as punishment for human rights abuses be lifted now that Assad's government has been dismantled.

"They should lift all restrictions, which were imposed on the flogger and the victim — the flogger is gone now," Sharaa said in an interview with London's the Times, referring to Assad. "This issue is not up for negotiation."

Western powers are, in some ways, happy to see the end of Assad's regime, which was haunted by the repeated use of chemical weapons against its own people and mass violation of human rights.

However, those same countries are still less than enthusiastic about the new boss.

HTS was founded as an al Qaeda affiliate branch that eventually split from the wider Islamic radical network. It is still designated as a terrorist group by the United States and many of its allies.

Sharaa seems to understand that a rebrand is necessary for the various rebel factions that contributed to the revolution.

He is now promising to dismantle these groups, promising that "fighters will be prepared to join the Ministry of Defense and everyone will be subject to the law."

The new leader granted amnesty to soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army who served under the old regime as a display of mercy. He has also issued a communique ordering rebel forces not to bother women over dress codes.

Sharaa met with British diplomats in Damascus this week to begin discussions of how the new Syria will fit into the global community. He also met Monday with Geir Pedersen, a United Nations special envoy.

International observers hope that Sharaa and his government's stated vision for a modern, democratic Syria is genuine. However, recent events in Afghanistan have tempered expectations for a transition from Islamic extremism to egalitarian tolerance.

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The Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021 through a similarly rapid and violent military campaign that overthrew established government authorities. The new leaders promised a series of reforms to soften Islamic social teaching and expand human rights.

Within months, the terrorist group broke the majority of those promises — pulling women out of the education system, failing to stop illicit narcotic production, and continuing unilateral detainment of suspected opposition.

Al-Jolani, who now uses his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, led the rebel movement that seized power from President Bashar al-Assad recently.

He criticised Israel for its incursion into southern Syria this week but said that Syria was too exhausted to launch attack against Israel.

DAILY POST reports that the United Nations had described as violation of the 1974 armistice agreement after Israeli troops entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights last weekend.

Ahmed al-Sharaa said in a statement on the rebels Telegram channel on Saturday, “The Israelis have clearly crossed the disengagement line in Syria, which threatens a new unjustified escalation in the region.

“The general exhaustion in Syria after years of war and conflict does not allow us to enter new conflicts.”

Israel, which has occupied most of the strategic plateau since 1974, said it acted in self-defence in the face of the political uncertainty in its northeastern neighbour.

Since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad by HTS-led forces on Sunday, Israel has also carried out hundreds of air strikes on Syrian military assets, according to a war monitor.

Foreign ministers from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar issued a joint statement on Saturday after they met in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba.

They said “all political and social forces” must be represented in the new Syrian government and warned against “any ethnic, sectarian or religious discrimination” and called for “justice and equality for all citizens”.

The political process in Syria should be supported by “the United Nations and the Arab League, in accordance with the principles of Security Council Resolution 2254”, a resolution in 2015 which set out a roadmap for a negotiated settlement, the statement said.

The Arab diplomats also attended a separate meeting in Aqaba that included US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

That meeting also called for an inclusive and representative government that respects the rights of minorities and does not offer “a base for terrorist groups”, according to Blinken, who spoke at a news conference.

“Today’s agreement sends a unified message to the new interim authority and parties in Syria on the principles crucial to securing much-needed support and recognition,” he said.

The talks come following the fall of al-Assad after a lightning offensive by the opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) last week.

Rebuilding institutions and forming an inclusive Syria are key terms from the Arab diplomats which “overlap with a lot of the positions of other dignitaries in attendance today in Aqaba”, said Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Jordan’s capital, Amman.

“Nobody wants to see Syria break into several countries,” she added. “They want to see a stable Syria that can welcome back the millions of refugees, and they’re offering their support, political, financial and humanitarian.”

According to their statement, the Arab ministers said state institutions must be preserved to stop Syria from “slipping into chaos”, also calling to boost joint “efforts to combat terrorism … as it poses a threat to Syria and to the security of the region and the world”.

They also condemned “Israel’s incursion into the buffer zone with Syria”, its air strikes in Syria, and demanded “the withdrawal of Israeli forces” from Syrian territory.

Inclusiveness is ‘critical’

Following al-Assad’s removal, a transitional government installed by the rebel forces has insisted the rights of all Syrians will be protected, as will the rule of law.

This will be fundamental for post-al-Assad Syria to avoid past mistakes, according to Labib al-Nahhas, director of the Syrian Association for Citizens’ Dignity, which advocates for the rights of Syrian refugees.

“The key to success in such a critical phase is inclusiveness, and not handing the country back to a single party or a single person because that was the origin of the problem that we had – that was the genesis of how we got here after 50 years of dictatorship,” al-Nahhas told Al Jazeera.

“The behaviour of the Syrian population in general, and the rebels specifically, going into the cities, even going into minority areas. I think it was exemplary,” al-Nahhas said, adding that there have so far only been scattered reports about retribution or vindictive acts.

The director said the international community must play a role in safeguarding Syria’s inclusiveness process.

Blinken is the first U.S. official to publicly confirm contacts between the Biden administration and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led a coalition of armed opposition groups that ousted Assad from power last Sunday.

Speaking at a news conference in Aqaba, Jordan, Blinken would not discuss details of the contacts but said it was important for the U.S. to convey messages to the group about its conduct and how it intends to govern in a transition period.

“Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” Blinken said. He added that “our message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed and we’re prepared to help them do so.”

HTS, which was once an affiliate of al-Qaida, has been designed as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department since 2018. That designation carries with it severe sanctions, including a ban on the provision of any “material support” to the group or its members. The sanctions do not, however, legally bar U.S. officials from communicating with designated groups.

HTS has worked to establish security and start a political transition after seizing Damascus and has tried to reassure a public both stunned by Assad’s fall and concerned about extremist jihadis among the rebels. Insurgent leaders say the group has broken with its extremist past.

The group’s leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, appeared in a video message Friday congratulating “the great Syrian people for the victory of the blessed revolution.”

U.S. officials say Sharaa has been making welcome comments about protecting minority and women’s rights but remain skeptical that he will follow through on them in the long run.

On Friday, the rebels and Syria’s unarmed opposition worked to safely turn over to U.S. officials an American man who had been imprisoned by Assad.

U.S. officials are continuing their search for Austin Tice, an American journalist who disappeared 12 years ago near Damascus.

“We have impressed upon everyone we’ve been in contact with the importance of helping find Austin Tice and bringing him home,” Blinken said.

The gatherings illustrated the dramatic changes that have swept over Syria less than a week after insurgents marched into Damascus and toppled al-Assad.

Amid the scenes of jubilation, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting with allies around the region and has called for an "inclusive and non-sectarian" interim government.

Blinken arrived in Iraq on a previously unannounced stop after talks in Jordan and Türkiye, which backs some of the Syrian insurgent factions. He is set to return to Jordan on Saturday for meetings with Arab foreign ministers, the Türkiye foreign minister and the UN's special envoy for Syria.

UN's special envoy for Syria.

 

Syrians gather outside the Umayyad mosque to attend first Friday prayers since Bashar al-Assad's ouster in Damascus, 13 December, 2024 Ghaith Alsayed/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.

So far, US officials have not talked of direct meetings with Syria's new rulers.

The main insurgent force, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has worked to establish security and start a political transition after seizing Damascus early last Sunday.

The group has tried to reassure a public both stunned by al-Assad's fall and concerned about extremist jihadis among the rebels.

Insurgent leaders say the group has broken with its extremist past, though HTS is still proscribed a terrorist group by the United States and European countries.

HTS' leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, appeared in a video message Friday congratulating "the great Syrian people for the victory of the blessed revolution."

 

Syrians gather during a celebratory demonstration following the first Friday prayers since Bashar al-Assad's ouster in Damascus, 13 December, 2024 Ghaith Alsayed/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.

"I invite them to head to the squares to show their happiness without shooting bullets and scaring people. And then after, we will work to build this country, and as I said in the beginning, we will be victorious by the help of God."

Al-Sharaa has promised to bring a pluralistic government to Syria, seeking to dispel fears among many Syrians, especially its minority communities, that the insurgents will impose a hardline, extremist rule.

The Sunni Arab insurgents who overthrew al-Assad did so with vital help from Türkiye, a long-time enemy of the US-backed Kurdish forces.

Türkiye controls a strip of Syrian territory along the shared border and backs an insurgent faction uneasily allied to HTS and is deeply opposed to any gains by Syria's Kurds.

In other developments, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye's Embassy in Damascus would reopen on Saturday for the first time since 2012, when it closed due to the Syrian civil war.

Since al-Assad's fall, Israel has bombed sites all over Syria, saying it is trying to prevent weapons from falling into extremist hands and has seized a swath of southern Syria along the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, calling it a buffer zone.

 

Syrians gather during a celebratory demonstration following the first Friday prayers since Bashar al-Assad's ouster in Damascus, 13 December, 2024 Hussein Malla/Copyright 2024 The AP. All right reserved

After talks with Fidan, Blinken said there was "broad agreement" between Türkiye and the US on what they would like to see in Syria.

That starts with an "interim government, one that is inclusive and non-sectarian and one that protects the rights of minorities and women" and does not "pose any kind of threat to any of Syria's neighbours," Blinken said.

Fidan said the priority was "establishing stability in Syria as soon as possible, preventing terrorism from gaining ground and ensuring that IS and the PKK aren’t dominant", referring to the Islamic State group and the Kurdistan Workers Party.

Ankara considers the PKK within Türkiye's borders a terrorist group, as it does the Kurdish-backed forces in Syria backed by the US.

A US official said that in Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Fidan both told Blinken that Kurdish attacks on Turkish positions would have to be responded to.

The US has been trying to limit such incidents in recent days and had helped organise an agreement to prevent confrontations around the northern Syrian town of Manbij, which was taken by Türkiye-backed opposition fighters from the US-backed Kurdish forces earlier this week.

In Baghdad, Blinken met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, saying both countries wanted to ensure the Islamic State group doesn't exploit Syria's transition to re-emerge.

"Having put Daesh back in its box, we can’t let it out, and we’re determined to make sure that that doesn’t happen," Blinken said.

The US official who briefed reporters said that Blinken had impressed upon al-Sudani the importance of Iraq exercising its full sovereignty over its territory and airspace to stop Iran from transporting weapons and equipment to Syria, either for al-Assad supporters or onward to the militant Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

Named Milaf Cola, the drink was developed by Thurath Al-Madina, a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, and launched at the Riyadh Date Festival by the company’s CEO, Bander Al-Qahtani, and the Saudi agriculture minister Abdulrahman Al-Fadley.

The cola’s star ingredient are premium dates which are packed with fiber, antioxidants, and essential minerals such as magnesium and potassium, and are revered in the Middle East for their health benefits.

Milaf Cola claims it contains no added sugar and is able to harness the superfood’s health benefits, positioning itself as a healthier alternative to conventional sodas without compromising on flavour.

The cola’s launch is in keeping with a broader initiative to champion sustainable, locally sourced products that aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a programme aimed at achieving the goal of increased diversification economically, socially and culturally.

https://twitter.com/drinkmilaf/status/1863296097730372085

The company says Milaf Cola adheres to all international food safety standards, and is environmentally sustainable since it is made with locally sourced dates.

According to media reports, festival attendees were eager to sample the new alternative to traditional sugary sodas and praised its flavour, describing it as both familiar and refreshingly different.

“It’s like drinking sunshine, if sunshine tasted like dates and happiness,” one festival attendee said.

Thurath Al-Madina has announced plans to expand the new beverage line and to introduce the drinks in regional and international markets, hoping to redefine global perceptions of dates from a traditional snack to a trendy, versatile ingredient​.

“Milaf Cola is just the beginning. We are working on a variety of products that will revolutionize how dates are consumed globally,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying by Munsif Daily.

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