Moderate tremor jolts Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A moderate earthquake rocked the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the capital Islamabad on Monday but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, an official said.
The earthquake was registered magnitude 5.6 on the rector scale.
The epicenter was 188 km (117 miles) north of Islamabad in the district of Faizabad in northern Afghanistan in the mountains of the Hindu Kush, chief meteorologist Mohammad Riaz told AFP.
The earthquake was felt at 14:49 (0949 GMT) in several cities in central Punjab, north-west of Islamabad Capital Pakhtunkhwa Khyber, and parts of Kashmir, he said.
Reports said the quake was felt in Islamabad, Maree, Sahiwal, Sarghodha, Balakot, Sialkot, Bagh, Mingora, Muzaffar Abad, Malakand, Swat, Lower Dir, Abotabad, Temorgara, Khyber Agency, Kohat and samples of most upper country.
It was also felt in Mansehra, Batgram and Kohistan areas of the province KP.
The earthquake of low intensity shook buildings in major cities, forcing people panicked out of their homes and seek refuge in the open air.
The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed the quake and magnitude, adding that it struck at a depth of 184.6 kilometers.
Pakistan was hit by an earthquake of magnitude 7.6 on October 8, 2005, which killed over 73,000 people dead and about 3.5 million homeless, mostly in Azad Kashmir and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.