At least 9 dead as powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake jolts Pakistan
Islamabad (PTI): An earthquake of 6.8 magnitude shook parts of Pakistan on Tuesday, killing nine people and injuring over 160 others, local media reported.
The epicentre of the earthquake was Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region, while its depth was 180 kilometres, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department.
Earthquake tremors were felt in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Peshawar, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, and other areas of the country.
Strong tremors were also felt in Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Kot Momin, Madh Ranjha, Chakwal, Kohat and in Gilgit-Baltistan areas, local media reported.
Television footage showed panic-stricken citizens out on the streets.
The earthquake killed nine people, including two women, and injured over 160 others as well as causing many buildings to collapse, authorities said, according to a Geo News report.
At the time of the earthquake, a stampede was reported in the markets of Rawalpindi, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has asked disaster management officials to remain vigilant to handle any situation, according to state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.
An emergency was declared in the hospitals of the federal capital on the instructions of Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel, The Express Tribune reported.
According to the international seismological centre, apart from Pakistan, tremors were also felt in India, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China and Kyrgyzstan.
Earthquakes are common in Pakistan.
A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Islamabad in January this year.
The deadliest quake hit the country in 2005, which killed more than 74,000 people.
Building effected by #earthquake in E11 Islamabad Pakistan.
— Malik Ali Raza (@MalikAliiRaza) March 21, 2023
Watch this video as well. https://t.co/lwnQluoMdb pic.twitter.com/9prXOys1UO
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Suvendu Adhikari says Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel taught Gaza”
Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has sparked controversy after stating that Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel has taught Gaza.”
Adhikari made the remark while speaking to reporters outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata on Friday, December 26. “These people must be taught a lesson, just like Israel taught Gaza. Our 100 crore Hindus and the government working in the interest of Hindus must teach them a lesson just as we taught Pakistan a lesson in Operation Sindoor,” he said.
The statement came amid protests being held outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission since December 22, following the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old garment factory worker in Bangladesh. Das was killed on December 18 in the Mymensingh district, where his body was allegedly hung from a tree and set on fire in public view.
Adhikari was part of a five-member delegation that met senior officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission on Friday. Speaking after the meeting, he claimed that the diplomats had “no answer to most of his questions” related to the killing and the situation of minorities in Bangladesh.
Reacting to his comments, the All India Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of promoting hate and intolerance. In a post on X, the party described Adhikari’s remarks as hate speech and alleged that they amounted to a call for violence, while also questioning the absence of legal action against him.
Adhikari’s statement has added to political tensions in West Bengal and raised concerns over inflammatory rhetoric linked to sensitive international and communal issues.
The @BJP4India’s Bengal ‘face’ wants a Gaza like operation against Bangladesh. Dog whistles that the @narendramodi government is for ‘Hindus’ only. Do you concur with this @narendramodi @DrSJaishankar ? Dirty politics of Divide and Rule won’t work in Bengal, @SuvenduWB pic.twitter.com/vLWm9b3AXb
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) December 27, 2025
