Strong earthquake tremors were felt across several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Gilgit Baltistan as well as in Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Monday evening, prompting residents to rush out of buildings in fear.
According to early seismic data, the quake measured 5.8 on the Richter scale, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Monday.
Monitoring agencies reported that the earthquake originated at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres beneath the surface, a factor that typically increases the intensity of shaking felt on the ground.
The tremors were felt for several seconds in the federal capital, the garrison city and adjoining regions of KP.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage, but emergency and rescue authorities placed their teams on alert as aftershocks could not be ruled out.
Residents described the shaking as strong enough to rattle windows and cause light objects to move.
In Occupied Kashmir also, an earthquake of magnitude 5.7 struck the Leh region of Ladakh on Monday morning.
According to the India’s National Centre for Seismology (NCS), the earthquake occurred at 11.51.14 IST at a depth of 171 kilometres.
The tremor was recorded at latitude 36.71 degrees North and longitude 74.32 degrees East.
The tremor in Ladakh comes amid a series of recent seismic activities reported across neighbouring regions in South and Southeast Asia.
Earlier on Sunday evening, an earthquake of magnitude 4.0 struck Afghanistan, as reported by the National Centre for Seismology.
According to the NCS, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres at 20.30 IST on January 18.
Reporter: Rozina Ali/Agencies