Quake jolts northwest Pakistan

A moderate earthquake of 5.0 magnitude jolted northwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan today, but there were no immediate reports of casualties, an official said.

A moderate earthquake of 5.0 magnitude jolted northwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan on Thursday but there were no immediate reports of casualties, an official said.

HT Image

The quake struck at 2:27 pm (0927 GMT) with its epicentre in the Hindu Kush mountain range, meteorological department chief Arif Mehmood said.

Tremors were felt in several cities in northwestern province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its capital Peshawar, he said.

Pakistan was hit by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake on October 8, 2005 that killed more than 73,000 people and left about 3.5 million homeless, mainly in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.