The United States on Thursday asked both India and Pakistan not to escalate the growing tensions in the region and instead focus on dialogue. White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said the positive side of the entire situation is that India and Pakistan are communicating with each other. He said, "We encourage both sides to continue discussion to avoid escalation.”

However, Earnest reiterated Barack Obama’s commitment to fight terrorism, reported the Times of India. He said, "The United States continues to be concerned by the danger that cross-border terrorism poses to the region and we fully expect Pakistan to combat and delegitimise the UN-designated terrorist groups."

Earnest also said the United States is "firmly committed" to its partnership with India and to "our joint efforts to combat terrorism". The US did not explicitly condemn India's claims of surgical strikes. Earnest’s message was similar to what National Security Advisor Susan Rice told her Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on Thursday.

India on Thursday announced that the Army had carried out surgical strikes along the Line of Control after it received specific intelligence inputs about militant threats in the region. It did not say the strike was revenge for the September 18 militant attack on Indian soldiers in Kashmir’s Uri. India has blamed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad for the Uri attack, and the one in Pathankot in January. The JeM, along with the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Haqqani network, is among the groups designated by the UN as "terrorists".