On Saturday morning, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake shakes major cities of Pakistan including Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and various districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. This is the third tremor reported in the country within a week.
The National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC) recorded the quake at 11:47 AM. It said the epicentre was near the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, with a depth of 94 kilometres. The exact location was 36.21 N latitude and 71.34 E longitude.
People across many cities ran out of their homes and workplaces in fear. Tremors were strongly felt in Lower Dir, Malakand, Bajaur, Nowshera, Dir Bala, Shabqadar, Mohmand, Chitral, Swat, Swabi, Gilgit, and Mardan. In Punjab, areas like Chiniot, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, and Bhalwal also felt the jolt. Reports also came from Mansehra and Athmuqam in Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir.
Shahjahan Khurram, a 33-year-old resident of Bahria Enclave in Islamabad, said, “It was brief but a powerful one. I felt the entire bed shake and had to quickly run out of our house with my family. Thankfully, it was brief and quickly over.”
There were no immediate reports of injuries or property damage.
Meanwhile, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the earthquake at a slightly lower magnitude of 5.7. It located the epicentre 53 kilometres south-southwest of Ashkasham in Afghanistan, close to the Pakistan-Afghan border.
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