A magnitude 6.5earthquake struck northern Afghanistan on Tuesday evening, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, causing strong shaking across the country and in the north of neighbouring Pakistan. The tremor had a depth of194 km and its epicentre was in the Hindu Kush mountain range near the remote northern Afghan province of Badakhshan.

It was not immediately clear whether the tremor had caused damage or casualties. Shaking could be felt as far as New Delhi. The quake shocks were felt in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Swat, Noeshera, Multan, Swat, Shangla and other places, media reports said.

Television footage showed worried Pakistanis out on the streets from their homes and buildings, the Dawn newspaper reported. So far no loss of life or property has been reported. At the time of the earthquake, a stampede was reported in the markets of Rawalpindi, The Express Tribune reported.

The quake also hit Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and China. The deadliest quake to hit Pakistan was in 2005 which killed more than 74,000 people. Large parts of South Asia are seismically active because a tectonic plate known as the Indian plate is pushing north into the Eurasian plate.

A6.1 magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed over 1,000 people last year. Separately, the US Geological Survey (USGS) put the magnitude slightly lower, at 6.5, according to preliminary information. The USGS said the epicentre was 40kmsouth-southeast of the Afghan town of Jurm, near the border with Pakistan.