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ISLAMABAD: A 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted northern and central Pakistan on Saturday, forcing residents to leave their homes, as Pakistani lawmakers began voting in a presidential election that slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's widower is expected to win.
The quake, which hit at 10:17 am (0547 GMT), struck Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region near the border with Pakistan. It struck at a depth of 174 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
A seismologist in Pakistan told AFP they were measuring the strength of the tremor, which was felt in the capital Islamabad and more strongly in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
"It appears to be of moderate strength and we are checking," said Qamar-uz Zamam, director general of the Pakistan Meteorological Department.
Lawmakers from the country's two houses of parliament and four provincial assemblies are voting on Saturday to elect a successor to Pervez Musharraf, who was forced to resign last month under threat of impeachment.
Asif Ali Zardari is the clear favourite in a three-way race to take power in a country riven by Islamic militancy and economic turmoil.
He has already moved house due to fears of attempts being made on his life, nine months after Bhutto was killed at a campaign rally.
If Bhutto's widower wins on Saturday, the role of president will allow him to go further and dismiss governments and appoint leaders of the ever lurking military that has ruled Pakistan for half its existence.
Lawmakers who fled an assembly building in Pakistan's northern city of Peshawar while voting in the presidential election returned quickly after realising the tremor was moderate, witnesses said.
Polling will close at 3:00 pm with unofficial results announced in the parliament soon after voting ends. The official verdict will come later in the evening.
- AFP/so
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