ISLAMABAD/TAJIKISTAN: A strong earthquake shook parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan early Saturday, rattling buildings and forcing sleeping residents out of their homes.

More than 30 people were injured as houses or walls collapsed in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar, said emergency rescue service spokesman Bilal Ahmed Faizi. A total of 41 people were taken to hospitals in the city, according to doctors and rescue officials.

Ghulam Rasool, a Pakistani official told The Associated Press that the magnitude-6.9 quake was centered in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan, beginning after midnight and lasting for 59 seconds. He said the tremors were felt for about a minute.

Hamid Nawaz, the head of Pakistan’s disaster management authority, said they were still assessing damage. He confirmed that some old homes and walls collapsed in Peshawar, but he refused to share further details.

The quake was also felt in the Kashmir region. In Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, some residents remained outside their homes despite the chilly winter weather, fearful of aftershocks.

The tremors were felt in Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Faislabad, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Multan, Chakwal, Lodhran, Sialkot, Gujrat and Jhelum (Punjab district), Muree, Peshawar, Malakand, Charsada, Mansahra, Swat, Hangu, and Swabi, Chitral (KP province), and south Waziristan.