Earthquake rocks Islamabad

Residents of Pakistan’s capital were jolted from their beds by a 5.3-magnitude earthquake, but there were no injuries or damage reported.

Arif Mahmood, a seismological official in the north-western city of Peshawar, said the quake’s epicentre was only about 17 miles north of Islamabad.

It occurred at about 2.45am today and was shallow, at about six miles deep, so it caused strong shaking. No damage or injuries were reported.

A 7.6-magnitude earthquake that struck on October 8, 2005, killed more than 80,000 people and left three million homeless, devastating areas around the epicentre in Pakistan-held Kashmir north-west of Islamabad.

It also toppled an apartment block in the capital, killing 74 people.