Lahore: An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale jolted several areas of Pakistan, including its capital Islamabad, on Wednesday morning.
The earthquake struck at 10.13 am local time, and tremors were felt at Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab provinces, besides Islamabad.
Gripped by fear and panic, people ran out of their homes on to the streets.
Emergency services were assigned to check for damage, but as per preliminary reports there are no reports of major destruction or loss of life.
The National Seismic Monitoring Centre in Islamabad said the epicentre of the earthquake was in Hindukush mountain range in Afghanistan, about 220 kilometres beneath the Earth’s surface.
While the Pakistan Meteorological Department recorded the quake at 5.3 magnitude, the US Geological Survey reported it at 5.1.
As Pakistan is located on the active boundary of Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, the country is prone to experiencing earthquakes, which are quite frequent in the northern mountain regions.
The most devastating earthquake to hit the region in the last few decades was the one in 2005, when a 7.6 magnitude quake led to the death of around 74,000 people, hundreds of thousands were injured and millions displaced.