5.3-magnitude quake jolts Islamabad, KP

Mild tremors from a 5.3-magnitude earthquake shook Islamabad, Attock, several cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and parts of the tribal belt on Saturday morning.

Residents in Attock, Mardan, and Swat reported noticeable shaking, with similar seismic activity in Peshawar, Nowshera, and Swabi. North Waziristan also experienced tremors, raising concerns among residents.

So far, no immediate reports of casualties or damage have been received. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the earthquake struck at 10:08am PST.

Its epicentre was located in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan at a depth of 230 kilometres. Coordinates were recorded at latitude 36.63 N and longitude 71.13 E.

Residents in these areas and surrounding areas reported noticeable tremors.

The seismic activity comes nearly a month after two earthquakes hit several cities across KP, Azad Kashmir, Punjab, and parts of Afghanistan.

The first earthquake, measuring a magnitude of 5.5, hit several cities across northern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on April 12, at a reported depth of 12 kilometres.

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.

Days later, on April 16, a 5.3-magnitude earthquake hit several areas of KP, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Punjab, and parts of Afghanistan.

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

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.