At this stage the extent of the physical and political damage done by the Pakistan Army's repressive measures in the unhappy province of East Bengal is still immeasurable.

And President Yahya Khan's long overdue effort at conciliation, announced in his speech to the nation June 28, will not be sufficient in itself to heal the wounds.

Much more will be needed in practical ways that the bewildered people of East Bengal can understand. The physical damage must be repaired, relief allowed to get through to where it is needed. And above all a sense of security must be achieved so that at least a substantial number of the six million refugees who fled across the bor-der to India Will feel encouraged to return to their homes.

In his speech President Yahya ruled out the possibility of new elections to replace the National Assembly elected with such high hopes last year. He announced that the task of drafting a new constitution would be removed from the assembly and given to a special commission. The assembly, he said, would meet for the first time when the constitution is complete in about four months' time.

The President maintained his ban on the popular Awami League of East Bengal which won a majority of seats in the National As-sembly on a platform demanding virtual autonomy for the province, He said that league members elected to the federal and provincial assemblies would be allowed to take their seats except for those who have committed "antistate or antisocial activities or criminal acts." There is no knowing how many of the league supporters would want to come forward and accept this offer after the repression exercised against their province and the imprisonment of their leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The President said under the new constitution the provinces would have "maximum autonomy" but this is likely to fall far short of the goal set by Sheikh Mujib.

President Yahya denied that his promise of a return to civilian government was the result of pressure from the consortium of Western powers who coordinate financial aid for Pakistan But the consortium's decision 10 days ago to postpone a discussion of fresh aid until the President defined his terms for a political settlement must have had some influence on his deliberations. The East Pakistani crisis has put heavy strains on the Pakistan economy, and President Yahya badly needs the aid that flows through the consortium's pipeline both to shore up the economy and go ahead with his development projects. It remains to be seen whether the program he announced will be sufficient to reassure the Western aid donors.

President Yahya is undoubtedly sincere in his desire to return his country to civilian rule. Unfortunately the mishandling of the East Pakistani crisis and the ruthless meth-ods employed by the Army in trying to solve it have only compounded his difficulties and made it that much harder for him to come up with valid solutions.

Now he has pledged to give the country a constitution in four months' time. If he is to convince his countrymen of his sincerity and enable them to build for the future in peace and calm, he must hold to that pledge.