A moderate earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter Scale jolted northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, causing panic but no casualties or damage, an official said. Tremors were felt in Peshawar, Islamabad, Chitral, Abbottabad, Swat valley and the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan at 4.57pm, a seismological department official said. The earthquakeÂ’s epicentre was located about 350 kilometres north of Peshawar in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan, he said. Police and emergency rescue officials said there were no reports of deaths or injuries or of damage to property.
However, panicked residents in Peshawar rushed out of their homes and shops reciting verses from the Quran, witnesses said.