WASHINGTON, Dec. 16— State Department officials expressed concern tonight that the Indian‐Pakistani war might continue in the West because Pakistan might refuse immediately to abide by the ceasefire declared by India earlier today.

There was no formal comment here on the speech by the President of Pakistan, Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan, that the war continues.”

But State Department officials, speaking privately, suggested that Pakistan might wish to maintain the fighting in the West for some time to extract some political gain from India after the debacle in East Pakistan.

Thus, they suggested that President Yahya was, in effect proposing negotiations with India for a settlement when he said that “we are ready in the future also to accept any such proposal of the United Nations which can end the present war in a manner not against our national interest.”

Officials here surmised that Pakistan might want to keep up the hostilities in the West, where Pakistani troops have taken some Indian territory, in return, among other things, for prompt repatriation of her defeated forces from the East.

As of late today, the United States lacked assurances from Pakistan as to whether she would accept the cease‐fire, which India plans to put into effect tomorrow.

American officials also noted charges by China today that Indian forces had crossed into Chinese territory from Sikkim for “reconnaissance.” China delivered a formal protest to India and India later rejected the accusation.

The view here was that China was showing her political support for Pakistan. But the charges involved the strategic area in Sikkim, north of East Pakistan, where China and India had fought in 1965. Officials believe that Peking's attitudes must be watched carefully for any signs of a pattern of pressures on the Indians.

Earlier today, Administration spokesmen were centering their attention on the question of whether India would cease fighting in the West.

Both Ronald L. Ziegler, the White House Press Secretary, and Robert J. McCloskey, the State Department spokesman, expressed hopes that India would extend the East Pakistani cease‐fire to the West. India formally did so later.

Another Administration official said that the continuing uncertainty over the military situation on the subcontinent was among the reasons why a United States naval task force, led by the nuclear aircraft carrier Enterprise, was staying on a course toward the Bengali coast.

Government spokesmen were prohibited from discussing directly the movements of the eight‐ship task force, which includes 2,000 marines. But they made no effort to contradict reports that the force's orders still called for deployment in the vicinity of the East Pakistani and Indian coasts, prob ably at some distance off Chittagong.

Informed sources said that as of late today the task force was about half‐way between the Strait of Malacca, where it entered the Bay of Bengal yesterday, and Chittagong.

Officials said yesterday that one of the task force's potential missions might have been the evacuation of American citizens from Dacca.

Though fighting around the East Pakistan provincial capital ended today with the surrender, the State Department's spokesman, Mr. McCloskey, said at noon that the United States had not yet made a final judgment on whether an evacuation may be required.

“We are not yet satisfied that we will not need to evacuate the Americans,” Mr. McCloskey said.