5.6-magnitude quake jolts parts of Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck several parts of Pakistan on Wednesday, shaking cities including Islamabad, Peshawar and Bajaur, officials said.

Residents rushed out of homes and office buildings as tremors rattled structures and triggered panic in some areas, according to local media reports.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department said the quake’s epicentre was in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan, a seismically active zone that frequently causes tremors across Pakistan and neighbouring countries.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

30 days, with one notable seismic event of 5.5-magnitude near Khuzdar, Balochistan on February 13, 2026 and a 3.4-magnitude tremor near Mardan on February 21, 2026.

On February 21, a 4.5-magnitude earthquake jolted Islamabad, Rawalpindi and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, shaking homes and offices and prompting people to step outdoors out of caution, although authorities reported no casualties or structural damage.

In January, a stronger quake of about 5.8 to 5.9 magnitude was felt across northern Pakistan — including Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan — particularly around the Hunza region.

That tremor partially damaged more than 100 homes and triggered landslides that closed sections of the Karakoram Highway.

Why Pakistan Feels Frequent Quakes

 Experts note Pakistan’s location along the boundary where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide, particularly near the Himalayan convergence zone and Hindu Kush mountains, makes it seismically active. These movements regularly generate tremors of varying strength across the country.

The current sequence of earthquakes echoes Pakistan’s long seismic history — from the devastating 2005 Kashmir quake that killed tens of thousands to more recent moderate quakes felt by millions