Earthquake tremors felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar

Earthquake tremors were felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, and their surrounding areas.

The tremors were also felt in several cities including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan, Kohat, Swat, Lower Dir, Malakand, as well as in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) Muzaffarabad.

The 5.3 magnitude earthquake occurred at 8.24pm, the seismic centre said, adding that the epicentre of the quake was the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan, and its depth was 130km.

Natural disasters such as earthquakes are not uncommon in Pakistan, as the country is situated on the boundary of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

Large parts of South Asia are seismically active because a tectonic plate known as the Indian plate is pushing north into the Eurasian plate.

Recent earthquakes underscore the importance of disaster preparedness and mitigation measures.