Mild quake tremors felt in parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan

Parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir, and Punjab, along with areas in Afghanistan, experienced moderate tremors early on Wednesday. 

According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC), the earthquake measured 5.3 on the Richter scale.

Tremors were reported in the KP areas of Malakand, Swat, Shangla, Chitral, Abbottabad, Mardan, Mohmand, Swabi, and Lower Dir.

In Azad Kashmir, residents in Samahni and nearby areas also felt the shaking.

In Punjab, tremors were felt in the Zafarwal region.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Afghanistan, an earthquake also struck the Hindu Kush region, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).

The EMSC said the tremor had a magnitude of 5.6 and occurred at a depth of 121 kilometres. The epicentre was located around 164 kilometres east of Baghlan, a city with a population of roughly 108,000, according to the EMSC.

The EMSC had initially reported the quake’s magnitude as 6.4 before revising it.

So far, no casualties or damage have been reported.

The seismic activity comes just days after several cities across northern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi were rattled by a moderate quake.

According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC), the April 12 earthquake occurred at 12:31pm, with a magnitude of 5.5 and a reported depth of 12 kilometres. The epicentre was located 60 kilometres northwest of Rawalpindi, at latitude 33.90 N and longitude 72.66 E.

Cities of Punjab, including Attock and Chakwal, also reported tremors in the region. In KP, jolts were felt in Peshawar, Mardan, Mohmand, Swabi, Nowshera, Lakki Marwat, Lower Dir, Malakand, Shabqadar and other cities. 

Earthquakes are not uncommon in Pakistan, as the country is situated on the boundary of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Large parts of South Asia are seismically active as the Indian plate is pushing north into the Eurasian plate.