I5.8 quake rocks Pakistan

KARACHI: A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck parts of Punjab and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Aaj TV reported on Monday.

According to reports, the tremors rocked Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Swat.

It may be mentioned that an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 struck a remote area of southwestern Pakistan in January 2011, however, initial reports revealed no major damage.

The earthquake occurred at 1:23 a.m. (3:23 p.m. Tuesday ET) at a depth of 84 kilometers (52 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The center of the tremors were 45 kilometers (30 miles) west of Dalbandin, and 1,035 kilometers (640 miles) west-southwest of Islamabad, the USGS said on its website.

Arif Mahmood, director of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, put the epicenter at 320 kilometers (about 200 miles) southwest of Quetta near Kharan in the province of Balochistan.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department said the tremors had been felt in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan provinces in Pakistan, as well as parts of Iran and India.