ISLAMABAD; Strong tremors from a 5.9-magnitude earthquake jolted several regions of Pakistan on Thursday, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and the federal capital.
According to the Seismic Monitoring Centre of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the earthquake originated in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region at a depth of 111 kilometres.
Tremors were widely felt in Peshawar, Lower and Upper Dir, Malakand, Bajaur, Mohmand, Shabqadar, Charsadda, Parachinar, Nowshera, Hangu and Kohat. Residents of Mansehra, Abbottabad, Swat and Attock also reported jolts. In Punjab, shocks were experienced in Mianwali, Chakwal, Talagang, Kallar Kahar and surrounding areas, while Multan also felt tremors. Strong jolts in Islamabad and Rawalpindi sent people running out of their homes and offices in panic.
In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, residents of Neelum Valley and Dhirkot confirmed experiencing the earthquake. However, no immediate reports of casualties or structural damage have been received.
The Pakistan-Afghanistan border region is highly seismically active, lying at the convergence of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. In neighbouring Afghanistan, the situation has been far more devastating. Authorities there reported that the death toll from a powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck the eastern provinces last weekend has risen sharply to over 2,200.
The Taliban government stated that the majority of fatalities occurred in the mountainous Kunar province, where at least 2,205 people were killed and 3,640 others injured. The tragedy has been described as Afghanistan’s deadliest earthquake in decades.
