CHITTAGONG, Pakistan, May 10—War, sabotage and a staggering absentee rate at key facilities have virtually paralyzed this deep water port on the Bay of Bengal.

No evidence of continued fighting between the Bengalis, who sought independence for East Pakistan, and the army troops was seen here by group of correspondents who were permitted to visit Chittagong today for three hours.

During the recent fighting, five key bridges north of here were demolished, and it seems that it will be a long time before they are repaired.

One of these bridges carries the only rail line to Chittagong. This line normally is used to move imports to the north and to deliver jute, Pakistan's main export, to Chittagong for shipment. But bales of jute delivered here last December are still piled up on the docks. Some ships are being loaded, but few dock workers are seen.

Throughout East Pakistan, the Bengalis, who make up the overwhelming majority of the population, are staying away from their jobs, especially in the major towns. Threats of penalties have not brought many of them back.

Typical of the situation here is a complex of nine apartment buildings owned by the Electrical Supply Company of East Pakistan. The buildings had been inhabited by about 1,000 Bengalis who work for the company.

Today the buildings are almost empty, their walls bullet pocked, the windows of their gutted apartments covered with bamboo mats.

“When the army came [about March 28], they stopped in front of the development and opened fire on everything,” said one company employee. “Many people were killed and the rest have all gone away. I am the only one here.”

But before the army came, when Chittagong was still governed by the secessionist, Awami League and its allies, Bengali workers, apparently resentful of the relative prosperity of Bihari immigrants from India, are said to have killed the Biharis in large numbers.

At the Chittagong Jute Manufacturing Company, Chittagong's largest mill, officials told of a massacre of Bihari overseers and their families by Bengali workers. Newsmen were shown graves where 152 victims were said to have been buried.

The European manager of al local bank said: “It was fortunate for every European living] here that the army arrived when it did. Otherwise we would not have lived to tell the tale.”

Other European and Americans reported, however, that they narrowly escaped death when the Pakistani came in, firing at random.

Entire neighborhoods in Chittagong have been demolished. In some places Hindu shrines have been destroyed along with any buildings near them.

Pakistan is a moslem nation, but East Pakistan has a large Hindu minority, Hindus are regarded by Government officials as potential agents of neighboring India, described in some official statements as “our arch enemy,”

The rebel forces here originally included the East Pakistan Rifles (a militia group), the police, armed civilians, and the entire East Bengal regiment of Pakistan's regular army.