India yesterday welcomed the decision of the government to lift emergency.

Replying to a short duration discussion on steps taken by the government on relief and resettlement of Sri Lankan Tamils in the Lok Sabha, External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna said the decision of Colombo to withdraw emergency once its term expires this month end was a welcome step.

Responding to concerns raised by members on human rights violations during the armed conflict with LTTE and after the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, Krishna said New Delhi would like Sri Lanka to make “transparent” investigations into such allegations and that the probe should not be a “make believe” one.

But at the same time, he said, India would not like to “endanger” its relations with that country and work with it for relief and resettlement of internally displaced people.