<p>New Delhi: A 4.6 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Pakistan on Monday with the epicentre located close to a prominent faultline in its Punjab province, the director of the National Center for Seismology (NCS) said.</p>.<p>The earthquake occurred at 1:26 pm IST near Pir Jongal in Pakistan’s Punjab province, O P Mishra, Director of the NCS said.</p>.<p>Monday’s temblor was the third earthquake to hit Pakistan in a span of three days, prompting claims on social media of some “unusual activity” in the neighbouring country that was engaged in an armed conflict with India.</p>.Magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes Northern Sumatra, Indonesia.<p>Mishra said the epicentre of the earthquake was close to the Main Central Thrust, a geological faultline that is prone to seismic activity.</p>.<p>Pakistan experienced two back-to-back earthquakes on May 10 – one 4.7 magnitude earthquake in the morning followed by a 4.0 magnitude temblor later.</p>.<p>The series of earthquakes over the past three days sparked off chatter on social media ranging from India's air strikes hitting crucial installations in Pakistan to Islamabad conducting nuclear tests.</p>.<p>"Another earthquake in Pakistan with almost the same intensity as before (in the past few days). Are they still testing nukes," wondered a social media user who goes by the handle @MrSinha.</p>.<p>"This is not natural Earthquake but possibly Nuclear site event in #Pakistani Nuclear sites? #OperationSindoor," another social media user said on X.</p>.<p>The NCS chief dismissed the claims about possible nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan.</p>.<p>"Nuclear explosions have a distinct signature. A natural earthquake has two phases, while nuclear explosion has a distinct tertiary phase. This is due to reverberation of the surface following a nuclear explosion. Seismographs can detect this distinctly," Mishra told <em>PTI.</em></p>.<p>Veteran seismologist A K Shukla said that the nuclear explosions are recorded differently on seismographs.</p>.<p>"The previous earthquakes have been reported from different locations and it was not possible to have nuclear facilities spread across different regions," Shukla said.</p>.<p>Pakistan lies along the active boundary between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates and provinces such as Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan are prone to frequent earthquakes.</p>
<p>New Delhi: A 4.6 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Pakistan on Monday with the epicentre located close to a prominent faultline in its Punjab province, the director of the National Center for Seismology (NCS) said.</p>.<p>The earthquake occurred at 1:26 pm IST near Pir Jongal in Pakistan’s Punjab province, O P Mishra, Director of the NCS said.</p>.<p>Monday’s temblor was the third earthquake to hit Pakistan in a span of three days, prompting claims on social media of some “unusual activity” in the neighbouring country that was engaged in an armed conflict with India.</p>.Magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes Northern Sumatra, Indonesia.<p>Mishra said the epicentre of the earthquake was close to the Main Central Thrust, a geological faultline that is prone to seismic activity.</p>.<p>Pakistan experienced two back-to-back earthquakes on May 10 – one 4.7 magnitude earthquake in the morning followed by a 4.0 magnitude temblor later.</p>.<p>The series of earthquakes over the past three days sparked off chatter on social media ranging from India's air strikes hitting crucial installations in Pakistan to Islamabad conducting nuclear tests.</p>.<p>"Another earthquake in Pakistan with almost the same intensity as before (in the past few days). Are they still testing nukes," wondered a social media user who goes by the handle @MrSinha.</p>.<p>"This is not natural Earthquake but possibly Nuclear site event in #Pakistani Nuclear sites? #OperationSindoor," another social media user said on X.</p>.<p>The NCS chief dismissed the claims about possible nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan.</p>.<p>"Nuclear explosions have a distinct signature. A natural earthquake has two phases, while nuclear explosion has a distinct tertiary phase. This is due to reverberation of the surface following a nuclear explosion. Seismographs can detect this distinctly," Mishra told <em>PTI.</em></p>.<p>Veteran seismologist A K Shukla said that the nuclear explosions are recorded differently on seismographs.</p>.<p>"The previous earthquakes have been reported from different locations and it was not possible to have nuclear facilities spread across different regions," Shukla said.</p>.<p>Pakistan lies along the active boundary between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates and provinces such as Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan are prone to frequent earthquakes.</p>