Moderate quake shakes northern Pakistan and Hindu Kush region

Mild earthquake tremors were felt in several areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir, Punjab, and parts of Afghanistan 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.