News In Brief

Pakistani leader says he won't run for president

Pakistan's military ruler, Gen. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, said Monday he will not run for the post of civilian president in elections he has promised by next March, the official Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

Meanwhile, the production minister, Lt. Gen. Saeed Qadir, said the government was seeking Soviet help in building a $1.7 billion nuclear plant at Chashma, in Punjab Province, after Western suppliers failed to submit any bids on the project.

General Zia, who seized power in a 1977 coup, said in a speech here that he firmly believed those who sought authority were hypocrites, the APP reported.