Magnitude 5.3 earthquake rattles Pakistan and Kashmir

In this file photograph, taken January 11, 2024, people stand outside their offices building after an earthquake was felt in Islamabad. (AP/File)

• There were no immediate reports of damage or deaths, officials said
• Magnitude 7.6 quake in 2005 killed thousands in Pakistan and Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: A magnitude 5.3 earthquake shook parts of Pakistan and the Himalayan region of Kashmir early Tuesday, panicking residents. 
There were no immediate reports of damage, officials said.
The epicenter of the quake was in southwestern Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim region that is divided between neighboring India and Pakistan, both of which claim it in its entirety but rule it in part.
According to the National Seismic Monitoring Center in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, the depth of the tremors was 20 kilometers (12 miles). Shaking was felt across much of Pakistan, including Islamabad, some areas in the eastern Punjab northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces bordering Afghanistan.
A magnitude 7.6 quake in 2005 killed thousands of people in Pakistan and Kashmir. Over 86,000 people died, a similar number were injured, and millions were displaced. It is considered the deadliest earthquake in South Asia, surpassing the 1935 Quetta earthquake, which killed up to 60,000 people.