PMD seismologist dismisses quake prediction

ISLAMABAD: As a wave of fear sweeps through the Pakistani nation over a Dutch seismologist’s claim about a massive earthquake in southwestern Balochistan province within 48 hours, a local expert dismisses the prediction as false, insisting it’s not possible to foretell the time and location of temblors.

“Pakistan sits at the boundary of two major tectonic plates, which extend from Somyani in the south to the northern regions. Within this boundary line, any area is susceptible to earthquakes, but making precise predictions about its time and location is impossible,” National Seismic and Tsunami Early Warning Centre director Ameer Hyder Laghari told The News.

Frank Hoogerbeets, a researcher at the Solar System Geometry Survey in the Netherlands, has claimed that a significant surge in electric activity along the fault lines in Balochistan’s Chaman was recorded that could lead to a powerful earthquake in the country.

“Planetary geometry is difficult to interpret with four conjunctions spread out over the next 10 days. As far as I can tell, 1-3 October will be more critical,” the Dutch researcher wrote in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Hoogerbeets rose to international prominence lately by accurately predicting the deadly earthquakes in Turkey, Syria, and other regions of the world based on planetary positions. Amid widespread fears and panic in the country, Laghari rejected the earthquake warning, insisting it lacked the mandatory scientific basis.