No casualties or major damage have been reported so far.

Pakistan's National Seismic Monitoring Centre said the quake was detected at 9:13 pm local time at a depth of 190 kilometres, with its epicentre in Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region. The coordinates were recorded at latitude 36.48°N and longitude 70.84°E.

Tremors were widely felt across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and several districts of Punjab. The shaking continued for several seconds, prompting residents in some areas to rush outdoors.

In India, the quake was felt in Noida, Chandigarh, Haryana, Ludhiana and parts of Jammu and Kashmir, including Srinagar, Poonch and Udhampur. People living in high-rise buildings reported that furniture and household items swayed noticeably.

Residents in the Kashmir Valley described strong ground movement, with some reporting flickering lights and buildings shaking. Social media posts from across the region showed people stepping out of homes and offices as a precaution.

Pakistan sits on a seismically active fault line where the Arabian, Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, making it prone to frequent earthquakes. The country experienced a 5.9-magnitude quake on 20 February and a 5.6 tremor in Balochistan on 13 February. Earlier on Friday, a smaller 3.8-magnitude quake was also recorded.

The deadliest earthquake in Pakistan's recent history struck in 2005, killing an estimated 74,000 people.

(With PTI inputs)