Link Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told President Mahinda Rajapaksa to protect ethnic Tamils amid rising concern about the impact on civilians of Sri Lanka’s offensive to capture the headquarters of the Tamil Tigers. Singh focused on “humanitarian” issues during talks with Rajapaksa in New Delhi yesterday and stressed the rights of civilians must be protected even when dealing with terrorism, according to India’s state-run broadcaster Doordarshan. The leaders also discussed incidents of Sri Lanka’s navy firing on Indian fisherman during their meeting at a regional summit aimed at combating terrorism, crime and drug trafficking. Rajapaksa has said the Tamil Tigers use Indian fishing boats to transport weapons. Lawmakers in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu passed a unanimous resolution the day before Rajapaksa arrived calling on Singh to demand negotiations with the rebels and a halt to Sri Lankan military operations. Tamil Nadu is home to about 73,000 Sri Lankan refugees, most of them Tamils, according to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.