The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) reported that an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 was felt in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday morning.
Pakistan falls on three major tectonic plates — the Arabian, Euro-Asian and Indian — which create five seismic zones under the country. The intersection of multiple fault lines means that tectonic movements remain a frequent occurrence in the region.
A report issued by the PMD said that the earthquake originated at 8:17am PKT today, with its epicentre in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan at a depth of 195 kilometres, at a latitude of 36.51 degrees north and longitude of 70.98° east.
Shocks were reported by the PMD to have been felt in Chitral, Peshawar and Swat, while the Pukhtunkhwa Times posted on X that “mild” tremors were also felt in Attock, Lower Dir and Upper Dir.
At the start of the month, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan killed over 1,400 people and flattened homes, with tremors jolting KP and Punjab. However, no casualties or damages were reported in Pakistan.
A few days later, another earthquake of magnitude 5.9 originated in the Hindu Kush region, and was felt in the twin cities and parts of KP.