Magnitude 5.9 earthquake jolts northern Pakistan with no reports of casualties

In this file photo taken on October 26, 2015, people gather outside the buildings after earthquake tremors felt in Islamabad. (AFP/File)

• Pakistan’s seismic monitoring center says quake’s epicenter was Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region
• Tremors felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Abbottabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s various cities

ISLAMABAD: A magnitude 5.9 earthquake jolted several cities in northern Pakistan on Saturday morning, state-run media reported, with no reported casualties or damages. 
As per the National Seismic Monitoring Center, the earthquake’s epicenter was the border region between Afghanistan and Tajikistan and was measured at a depth of 94 kilometers. 
“The National Seismic Monitoring Center reported that the earthquake’s tremors were felt in numerous cities at 11:48 a.m. including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Abbottabad, Attock, Haripur, Mansehra, Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Haripur, Swat, Chitral, Shangla, Malakand, Muzaffarabad and several other cities,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said. 
As per the APP, alarmed citizens ran out of their homes and started reciting verses from the Qur’an after feeling the tremors. 
“No loss of life and property was reported from any part of the country so far,” it added. 
Pakistan sits on the boundary of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates and is prone to seismic activity.
The country’s northern and western regions are home to mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, Hindu Kush and Karakoram.
Among the most devastating earthquakes in Pakistan’s history was the 2005 Kashmir quake, which measured 7.6 in magnitude and killed more than 86,000 people.
In 2013, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Balochistan, killing over 800 people and flattening entire villages.