The temblor was felt in parts of Islamabad and across Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

In some areas, the quake triggered panic and people ran out of their homes.

The cities and towns rocked by the quake included Rawalpindi, Lahore, Peshawar, Kohat, Mardan, Abbottabad, Chakwal, Swat and Malakand.

The epicentre of the tremor was located 280 km from the Afghan capital of Kabul.