RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 5—In his strongest appeal to date to bring home refugees who have fled East Pakistan, Pakistan's President, Gen. Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan, today proclaimed a general amnesty.

The amnesty is to extend to “all those who have committed or are alleged to have committed offenses during the disturbances in East Pakistan beginning March 1, 1971, and ending Sept. 5, 1971.”

The proclamation said that the amnesty would extend to any members of the armed forces, the East Pakistan Rifles and the police who defected from the national forces last March to join the Bengali independence movement.

The amnesty apparently does not extend to Sheik Mujibur Rahman, the Bengali leader now on trial for treason, or to several hundred other leaders of the now illegal Awami League that had been led by Sheik Mujib.

“Criminal proceedings have been initiated against certain members‐elect of the national end provincial assemblies of East Pakistan and certain other limited number of individuals,” the Government statement said.

“They are also being afforded sufficient opportunity to clear themselves of the charges before the courts set up,” it said.

The problem of East Pakistani refugees, most of whom have fled to India, is widely regarded as potentially the most dangerous situation here. India says that eight million refugees have come from East Pakistan. Pakistan acknowledges two million.

So far, various appeals by President Yahya have failed to persuade many refugees to return and the jammed refugee camps in India's slate of West Bengal are considered a potential spark to ignite war between. Pakistan and India.

Pakistan has made a series of moves in the last few weeks to encourage the refugees to return. Besides the amnesty announced today, immunity from prosecution of those returning has been promised several times before.