Strong earthquake shakes parts of Pakistan

A strong earthquake shook parts of Pakistan on Tuesday night.

According to initial reports, the magnitude 6.8 earthquake affected India, Pakistan and Afghanistan at 9:49pm (Pakistan Standard Time). The epicentre of the earthquake is said to be in Tajikistan.

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There were no immediate reports of casualties from quake.

Pakistan’s Meteorological Department said the earthquake measured at magnitude 6.8, with the epicentre being in the Hindu Kush mountain range near the remote northern Afghan province of Badakhshan.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) put the magnitude slightly lower, at 6.5, according to preliminary information.

The USGS said the epicentre was 40 kilometers (25 miles) south-southeast of the Afghan town of Jurm, near the borders with Pakistan and Tajikistan.

Initial reports said the tremor was felt in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, as well as a number of Pakistani cities, including Islamabad and Lahore.

Witnesses also reported feeling the shaking in Indian-occupied Kashmir, as well as in India’s capital, New Delhi.

Large parts of South Asia are seismically active because a tectonic plate known as the Indian plate is pushing north into the Eurasian plate.

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed more than 1,000 people last year.