Colombo, July 31 : External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today took up the issue of recent ceasefire violations along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in Colombo.

Mukherjee raised the issue with Qureshi when they held talks on the sidelines of the SAARC Council of Ministers'' meeting.

“We shared our perception about our bilateral relations, the composite dialogue and certain recent events,” Mukherjee told reporters after the meeting.

Colombo, July 31: Domestic flights to northern Jaffna are likely to be suspended during the 15th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit.

SAARC leaders are meeting in Colombo between August 1 and August 3.

Sri Lankan Civil Aviation Authority Director General Parakrama Dissanayake said that during these days, flights by domestic carriers between Colombo and Jaffna would be suspended for security reasons.

Meanwhile, a heavy security blanket has been imposed across Colombo for the summit.

Sri Lankan defence forces have been placed on high alert for possible attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the summit. The military is also on alert.

Colombo, July 31: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived here last night to participate in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Council of Ministers meeting.

Sri Lanka's Deputy Foreign Minister MK Hussain Bahila and Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad received Mukherjee at the Colombo airport.

Colombo  - Foreign ministers of eight South Asian nations are set to open a regional meeting Thursday where common issues including trade, transport, environment and poverty are to be discussed.

The meeting takes place ahead of a meeting of the eight countries' heads of state over the weekend during the 15th summit of the South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (SAARC) in Colombo.

A tight security cover has been imposed in Colombo despite a unilateral cease-fire declared by Tamil rebels from July 26 to August 4. The government has rejected the truce and poured in 20,000 police and other security personnel to protect the city.

Colombo - Government troops entered a rebel stronghold in northern Sri Lanka, killing at least 25 Tamil rebels, a military spokesman said Thursday.

Troops advanced to the Mallavai area, 320 kilometres north of Colombo, penetrating as far as the Mullaitivu district where rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had been living, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

During the operation troops killed 25 rebels and captured an irrigation tank as well as three mortars, the spokesman said.

Colombo  - Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels issued a unilateral ceasefire declaration early Tuesday for a 10-day period beginning Friday.

A statement from the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said that the ceasefire "as a sign of goodwill" would extend through August 4 in recognition of the upcoming conference of the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

The meeting brings together Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.