Moderate earthquake jolts Pakistan

A moderate 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of northwest Pakistan on Sunday, but there were no reports of casualties or damage, officials said.

A moderate 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of northwest Pakistan on Sunday, but there were no reports of casualties or damage, officials said.

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Tremors were felt at 09.37 am (local time) in some parts of northwestern Pakistan including the capital Islamabad, said Riaz Khan, a seismological department official.

Khan said the epicentre was about 296 kilometres northeast of Balakot town in Mansehra province, deep in a remote mountain area in Indian-administered Kashmir and close to the China border.

There were no reports of any casualties or damage but Khan said they fear landslides in the mountainous area and were monitoring the situation.

A 7.6-magnitude quake on October 8, 2005 killed more than 74,000 people and left 3.3 million homeless in Pakistan.