A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck northeast Afghanistan around midnight near the country's borders with Pakistan and Tajikistan, according to the US Geological Survey. The quake, which measured 203.5 kilometres deep, struck about 280 kilometres northeast of the Afghan capital Kabul at 11:44 pm (1914 GMT), the USGS said on its website.It caused buildings to sway in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, an AFP journalist said, and Twitter users as far away as New Delhi said they felt the quake's impact.
A Pakistani official said that a strong earthquake struck the region, rattling buildings and forcing sleeping residents in the capital, Islamabad, out of their homes. A Twitter user in Peshawar tweeted over a dozen people are hospitalized in the Pakistani city.
In October, a 7.5-magnitude quake ripped across Pakistan and Afghanistan, killing almost 400 people and flattening buildings in rugged terrain that impeded relief efforts.