5.3-magnitude earthquake shakes twin cities, AJK, KP

RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) - Earthquake tremors jolted parts of Pakistan, with 5.3-magnitude here Tuesday.

The PMD stated that the epicentre of the quake was located in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan at a depth of 234 kilometers and occurred at 11:15pm local time.

It added that the quake was felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Chitral, Swat, Dir and Malakand.

Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Hangu, Haripur and surrounding areas received the shocks.

People residing in Battagram, Lower Dir, Taxila City, Hasan Abdal, Wah Cantt and their adjoining areas felt shocks of earthquake.

Earthquake tremors were also felt in Bajaur, Murree, Malakand, Swat, Dir and surrounding areas. Daulatala, Gojar Khan, Abbottabad and its suburbs were also jolted by the tremors.

Due to the earthquake panic spread among the people who came out of their houses and offices, reciting Kalima Tayyaba.

Earlier on Monday, an earthquake of 4.7 magnitude struck Pakistan according to the NCS.

Earthquakes of moderate 4.0 intensity had hit Pakistan on Saturday and Sunday also. Earlier in the early hours of Tuesday, an earthquake of magnitude 4.3 struck Afghanistan.

Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northern India lie in one of the most seismically active zones in the world, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. The region frequently experiences moderate to strong earthquakes, often felt across borders due to the proximity of fault lines.

Pakistan is among the seismically active countries in the world, crossed by several major faults. This collision zone makes the country highly vulnerable to violent earthquakes. Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan lie on the southern edge of the Eurasian plate, while Sindh and Punjab are located on the northwestern edge of the Indian plate as a result of which they experience frequent earthquakes.