Reiterating his government's pledge to renounce American aid, Shahbaz said that he, Nawaz and the PML-N would choose death over accepting foreign aid, as it was usurping "our freedom and marring our dignity and our honour".
"We will have to ponder that for how long we will be bowing before others for charity and compromising our freedom," The Nation quoting Shahbaz, as saying while addressing a function.
"Despite our sacrifices, the foreigners are not giving due importance, and after the Abbotabad incident, we are being given a message that we are not their friend but a parasite country. Time has come that we should learn living with dignity by breaking the chains of slavery," he added.
Shahbaz noted that history corroborates the fact that the countries that made tough decisions turned out to be victorious and got a well-deserved place in the comity of nations.
"The outsiders want to do away with the sovereignty of the country by using the pretext of 'charity' and control the aerial boundaries of the country. The nation needs to rise up again for regaining its freedom and doing away with the evil designs of the outsiders," he added. (ANI)
