A magnitude 5.2 earthquake jolted northern parts of the country on Saturday night, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Television reports claimed that tremors were felt in Islamabad, Haripur, Mardan, Peshawar, Mansehra, Dir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Shangla and other areas.

The quake originated 25km northwest of `Alaqahdari-ye Kiran wa Munjan, Afghanistan, and had a depth of 101.3 km, the USGS said.

No reports of casualties or damage were received till the filing of this report.

Pakistan is located in the Indus-Tsangpo Suture Zone, which is roughly 200 km north of the Himalaya Front and is defined by an exposed ophiolite chain along its southern margin.

This region has the highest rates of seismicity and largest earthquakes in the Himalaya region, caused mainly by movement on thrust faults.

Along the western margin of the Tibetan Plateau, in the vicinity of south-eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan, the South Asian plate translates obliquely relative to the Eurasia plate, resulting in a complex fold-and-thrust belt known as the Sulaiman Range.

Faulting in this region includes strike-slip, reverse-slip and oblique-slip motion and often results in shallow, destructive earthquakes.