ISLAMABAD: Panic gripped citizens when an earthquake — measuring 5.9 on Richter scale by US Geological Survey — jolted northern parts of the country including Islamabad on Monday afternoon.

No immediate loss of life or property was reported.

The tremors were felt in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir and upper Punjab, DawnNews reported.

The meteorological authorities said that the epicentre of the earthquake was in Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan, having coordinates of 36.52 N and 71.30 E.

The quake struck 224 kilometres deep beneath the Hindu Kush mountains and close to the Wakhan Corridor, the narrow strip of far northeastern Afghanistan that lies between Tajikistan and Pakistan.

The tremors were also felt strongly in Kabul, some 290 km from the epicentre, where people rushed into the streets in alarm, and even further away in Srinagar, the main city of Indian-held Kashmir.

Meanwhile, the local authorities are claiming that the earthquake was of 6.4 magnitude on Richter scale.

Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) spokesman said it is contacting district authorities to check whether there was any loss of life or property in any area.

DawnNews reported that people in Peshawar, Islamabad, Muzaffarabad, Besham, Ghizar, Skardu, Abbottabad, Battagram, Chitral, Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda, Nowshera, Sargodha, Shahkot, Gujranwala, and Sangla Hill felt the tremors.