37 injured in Pakistan as 6.9 magnitude earthquake hits central Asia

Islamabad, Dec 26  At least 37 people were injured when an earthquake measuring 6.9 on Richter Scale jolted Pakistani capital Islamabad and parts of east Punjab in the wee hours of Saturday morning, Geo News said.

Tremors were also felt in the national capital and Kashmir.

The capital city Peshawar of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was the worst-hit area from where the all 37 casualties were reported, Xinhua quoted Urdu news channel Geo as saying.

The provincial authorities have imposed a state of emergency in all the three major hospitals in Peshawar and in neighbouring Nowshera district to facilitate the injured people.

Ghulam Rasool, Director General of Pakistan, said that the quake's focal depth was 197 km in the Hindukush mountain ranges along Afghanistan-Tajikistan border.

He said that the earthquake's duration was 59 seconds in parts of the country, adding that several mild to moderate aftershocks hit the country in the next few hours.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that the earthquake's magnitude was 6.2 and its focal depth was 203 km in Ashkasham area of Afghanistan.