5.9-magnitude earthquake hits NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale hit parts of Pakistan on Sunday afternoon, local met office reported.

The Pakistani meteorological department said the quake's epicentre was determined at Afghanistan's Hindu Kush Mountain range with a focal depth of 157 km.

The tremors were felt in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province including the capital city Peshawar, and tribal areas.

The office director general, Ghulam Rasool, said in an earlier interview that earthquakes are likely to hit the country frequently for the next few months as Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, which lie near the Hindu Kush mountain range, are currently active and cause earthquakes.

He said that when the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates interact with each other, they release energy that causes seismic waves.

The tremblor created panic among people, but no loss of life or property has been reported so far.