Earthquakes have frequently hit Afghanistan, Pakistan in recent years

Over 1,100 people died, thousands were injured in magnitude 6 earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan on Sunday
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Updated 02 September 2025
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Earthquakes have frequently hit Afghanistan, Pakistan in recent years

  • Over 1,100 people died, thousands were injured in magnitude 6 earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan on Sunday
  • The Afghanistan-Pakistan region, suffers frequent earthquakes as it lies at intersection of Indian, Eurasian tectonic plates

More than 1,100 people died and thousands were injured after an earthquake of magnitude 6 struck the rugged eastern region of Afghanistan, the latest such event following an increase in seismic activity.

Here are previous similar disasters of recent years in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, which lies at the intersection of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

2025

  • A magnitude 5.6 quake hit Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region on August 27.
  • A magnitude 5.2 earthquake hit Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region on August 19, at a depth of 186 km (115 miles).
  • A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck central Pakistan on June 29, with its epicenter at a depth of 149 km (93 miles).
  • A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Pakistan on May 10, the European Mediterranean Seismological Center said.
  • Quakes of magnitude 5.6 and 5.8 hit the Hindu Kush and Afghanistan-Tajikistan border regions, on April 16 and 19, respectively.
  • A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Pakistan on April 12, at a depth of 39 km (25 miles).
  • Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi has been hit by several moderate or minor tremors in March and June.

2024

  • A magnitude 5.5 earthquake hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on October 17.
  • An earthquake of magnitude 5.75 struck Pakistan at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) on September 11.
  • Earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and 5.8 struck Pakistan between March 19 and March 20.
  • An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 hit northwestern Kashmir on February 19.
  • A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on January 11.
  • A magnitude 5 earthquake hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region on January 5.

2023

  • An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region on November 15.
  • At least four earthquakes hit Afghanistan between October 7 and 15, the two deadliest in the western province of Herat, killing about 1,000 people and destroying entire villages.
  • On August 6, an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border.
  • Earthquakes of magnitude 5.6 and 5.7 hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on May 3 and on August 5, respectively.
  • An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hit northern Afghanistan in late March, killing at least 13.
  • A magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on January 5.

2022

  • An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 hit southeastern Afghanistan on December 16.
  • Over September 5 and 6, at least two earthquakes struck Afghanistan, with one killing at least eight.
  • A magnitude 5.6 quake struck Pakistan’s southwestern region on August 1.
  • A magnitude 6 earthquake in Afghanistan killed more than 1,000 people in June.
  • A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on February 5.
  • An earthquake of magnitude 5.6, at a depth of 30 km (19 miles), hit western Afghanistan on January 17.

2021

  • At least 15 people were killed after an earthquake struck southern Pakistan on October 7.
  • A magnitude 4.6 earthquake, at a depth of 17.6 km (11 miles), shook Afghanistan on May 19.

Pakistan PM orders strategy to improve project execution as multilateral lenders propose reforms

Updated 08 December 2025
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Pakistan PM orders strategy to improve project execution as multilateral lenders propose reforms

  • Shehbaz Sharif says he will personally lead a steering committee to speed up priority projects
  • Four working groups proposed to streamline approvals, procurement, land issues and staffing

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed officials to draw up a detailed strategy to improve the planning and execution of development projects, saying he would personally chair a steering committee aimed at ensuring timely and transparent completion of priority schemes.

The move came during a meeting where the World Bank and Asian Development Bank presented recommendations to the government on strengthening project implementation.

According to the prime minister’s office, participants received a briefing that said project approvals involve multiple steps and need simplification, while timely procurement and better readiness tools could also help accelerate implementation.

“National projects of critical importance must be completed transparently and on time,” Sharif told officials, according to the statement. “This is our priority.”

He said the federal and provincial steering committee on development-sector reforms would be headed by him.

The statement said four working groups were also proposed during the meeting: one to review approval and preparation processes, a second to modernize procurement, a third to address land acquisition and resettlement challenges, and a fourth to focus on human-resource alignment and staff deployment for development schemes.

Sharif thanked the World Bank and Asian Development Bank for their support and said development projects must be aligned with the objectives of Pakistan’s Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) and provincial Annual Development Plans (ADPs).

The meeting was attended by senior federal ministers, provincial representatives, senior civil servants and the country directors of both multilateral lenders.