Panic grips valley as midnight tremors rattle Kashmir

Tremors were felt in the national capital early on Saturday after an quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale jolted the central Asia region near Afghanistan, the US Geological Survey said.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department in a statement today said that the epicentre of the quake was 153 km southeast of Taloqan, Afghanistan and 4,438 km northwest of Padang Besar, Perlis.

Quake also hits Peshawar, KPK, Multan, Sahiwal, Rawalpindi, Muree, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Kasur, Vehari, Azad Kashmir, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Checha Watni and many other parts are in range. There was no report of any loss of life or damage to property till last reports came in. "Right now, we can not say whether any damage (to life or property) has taken place". Overall, five provinces were affected, with 12 people injured and 16 houses damaged, OCHA said. Jammu and Kashmir also felt the tremors. "We were fast asleep when suddenly the earth shook and we rushed out in the open to save ourselves as we feared that the house might collapse", Surjeet Kaur, a local resident of Jammu said.

Mobile network also faced congestion with anxious relatives calling each other to inquire about the well being of their family members.