Earthquake jolts Islamabad, Peshawar, parts of KP, Punjab provinces

ISLAMABAD: An earthquake has hit Islamabad, Peshawar and multiple rural and urban centres of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab province of the country today, ARY NEWS reported.

According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre, an earthquake of magnitude 5 having an epicentre at the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan has hit the country. It was generated 218 kilometres underground near the border strip.

Islamabad, Peshawar, Sargodha and Murree were among the main urban centres in the country that were hit by tremors described by eye-witnesses as severe.

The other areas of the country that were hit by the earthquake included Lower Dir, Kohat, Buner, Malakand, Mohmand, Swat, Mardan, Nowshera, Hangu, Abbottabad, Basham, Shangla of the KP province.

Jhang, Jalalpur Bhattian, Chiniot, Toba Tek Singh, Chakwal, and other parts of the Punjab province also witnessed the jolts.

According to eye-witnesses, the jolts were severe and forced the people to come out of their homes and offices while reciting Quranic verses.