Quake jolts parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Moderate earthquake of 5.7 magnitude jolts parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir.

PESHAWAR: A moderate earthquake of 5.7 magnitude jolted northwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan on Thursday but there were no immediate reports of casualties, an official said.

Tremors were felt in several cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Peshawar as well as in Kashmir, meteorological department chief Arif Mehmood told AFP.

The quake struck at 08:59 am with a magnitude of 5.7 and its epicentre was located 280 kilometres  northwest of Peshawar near the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, he said.

"No loss of life or damage to property has been immediately reported," he said.

Pakistan was hit by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in October 2005 that killed more than 73,000 people, mainly in Kashmir and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.