President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday urged the nation to not celebrate Valentine’s Day.

“Valentine’s Day has no connection with our culture and it should be avoided,” the president said while speaking at an event to honour the services of Pakistan Movement leader Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar on his death anniversary.

Saying the day was not a part of Muslim tradition but of the West, Mamnoon said we must maintain our religious and national identity.

Referring to the education system, President Mamnoon said that there is a need to formulate the educational curriculum of Pakistan, according to the requirements of the modern age and ideology of the country. “Work in this regard is underway and soon, a new curriculum with the consensus of all stakeholders will be implemented,” he added.

“Students should go abroad to attain higher education, but should not be influenced by the West and must maintain their religious and national identity,” he said.

He further said that Pakistanis can achieve progress, while also earning a distinguished status if they adopt the thoughts and philosophy of the country’s great leaders.

The president stressed that it is the need of the hour to work towards achieving the vision of our leaders though unitu and hard work, which would make a mark at international level.

“We could not derive full advantage of our strategic geographical location in the past, but now the government is endeavoring to take Pakistan to newer heights of prosperity through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and development of Gwadar port,” President Mamnoon said.

Paying tribune to national heroes and recalling the efforts of Sardar Nishtar, which helped overcome several challenges after the creation of Pakistan, the president said, “We need to emulate the principles and self-belief of our founding fathers to make Pakistan a strong and prosperous country.”

“Pakistan came into being because of selfless struggle waged by Sardar Abdur Rab and others under the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam,” he said.

Announcing his decision, the president said that ceremonies would be organised at the Aiwan-e-Sadr to nourish the ideology of Pakistan and strengthen the national identity.