Chennai, Sep 27 (IANS) Tamils want India to play a more active role in Sri Lanka, but they want to keep Pakistan at bay, a Sri Lankan Tamil politician said here Tuesday.

R. Sampanthan, Member of Parliament from Trincomalee and leader of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group in Sri Lanka told media persons: "India should no longer be a spectator."

"If Pakistan thinks it can help Sri Lanka militarily against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) it is not going to happen," said Sampanthan, who held discussions with the Indian establishment in New Delhi last week.

The TNA leaders held talks with E. Ahamed, Minister of State for External Affairs, M.K. Narayanan, National Security Advisor and foreign secretary-designate Shiv Shankar Menon.

India had maintained a distance from Lankan Tamil groups since the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"After a long time we have been able to re-establish contact with New Delhi," the Lankan Tamil leader told IANS.

Asked if the team's inability to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a snub, Sampanthan said, "No date and time had been fixed for a meeting."

The TNA leader, who was upbeat on the outcome of the India visit, said, "The visit has brought New Delhi a lot closer to the Tamils of Sri Lanka."

Asked if this would be a setback in the peace talks between Colombo and LTTE, Sampanthan said, "I do not think so."

He also denied that he was speaking on behalf of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

"Sri Lanka's constitution is like an albatross," he said.

"It permits the dismissal of an elected government after a year. It encourages colonisation by Sinhalese in Tamil areas. It discriminates on the basis of language. You cannot find a solution to the Sri Lanka-LTTE problem within the Lankan Constitution," Sampanthan said.

Sampanthan, however, refused to comment on reports that Tamil leaders and groups were invited for talks by the prime minister.

"We are here to urge India to get the Sri Lankan government to behave in a civilised manner, to stop the killing of innocent Tamil civilians by aerial bombings. The present situation is like how it was in 1983, when as many as 250,000 people were displaced," he said.

"I do not think anyone else can play as effective a role as India in restoring peace between the Sinhalese and Tamil ethnic groups," Sampanthan said, insisting that LTTE was not averse to such a settlement.

Asked if Pakistan's interest in Sri Lanka is targeted at India's space research programme and defence facilities in South India, he said: "It is a possibility".