New Delhi: Concerned over the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka, New Delhi on Thursday asked Colombo to "pause" hostilities till all civilians come out of the conflict zone as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reviewed the situation in the island nation for the second time in as many days.
India, which underlined that there can be no military solution to the ethnic problem, also started reaching out to the US, Britain and other important countries over the situation in Sri Lanka.
"We are requesting Sri Lankan authorities to have a pause or cessation of hostilities till the last civilian comes out of the conflict zone," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters in the Capital.
"Repeatedly we have asked Sri Lankan authorities that military solution is no solution. Ultimately it will have to be a political solution," he said.
Mukherjee spoke as he proceeded to attend a meeting convened by the Prime Minister to review the situation in Sri Lanka's north where between 10,000 to 30,000 civilians are trapped in the conflict between advancing army and LTTE.
Defence Minister A K Antony and Home Minister P Chidambaram also attended the meeting.
Earlier in the day, India's envoy to Sri Lanka Alok Prasad, who has been called for consultations, briefed Mukherjee and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon on the latest situation in the island nation.