Washington has urged New Delhi and Islamabad to avoid escalation amid killing of terrorists in Pakistan by unidentified individuals.
When asked why the US has not considered sanctions on India over alleged involvement in murder attempt on Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a State Department spokesperson said Washington "doesn't discuss sanctions openly".
"I am never going to preview any sanction actions, which is not to say that there are any coming, but when you ask me to talk about sanctions, it's something that we don't discuss openly," said US State Department Mathew Miller.
The reaction came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh made remarks regarding crossing borders to kill terrorists in Pakistan. When asked if their remarks could be interpreted as acknowledgements of involvement in incidents such as the alleged murder-for-hire plot of Pannun, he said Washington would not interfere in the matter.
The spokesperson said India and Pakistan should avoid escalation and resolve the matter through dialogues.
"As I have said before, the United States is not going to get into the middle of this. But we do encourage both India and Pakistan to avoid escalation and find a resolution through dialogue,” Miller said.
The US Justice Department earlier said an Indian government employee had recruited Nikhil Gupta, an Indian citizen, to hire a hitman to eliminate Pannun. The US authorities thwarted the assassination plot and arrested Gupta.
