Pakistan earthquake: Epicentre located near major geological faultline, says NCS

On Monday, May 12, 2025, a 4.6 magnitude earthquake hit parts of Pakistan. The National Center for Seismology (NCS) in India said the earthquake happened at 1:26 PM IST near Pir Jongal in Punjab province, close to a major faultline.

O P Mishra, Director of the NCS, explained that the earthquake's center was near the "Main Central Thrust," a known geological faultline. This faultline is prone to earthquakes due to constant pressure between two large plates of the Earth—the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

This earthquake was the third to hit Pakistan in just three days. On May 10, Pakistan felt two more quakes—one of 4.7 magnitude in the morning, and another of 4.0 later that day. This string of tremors led to many social media users making guesses about what was happening.

Some people on social media suggested that the earthquakes could be linked to military actions or nuclear testing by Pakistan. For example, one person on platform X asked, “Another earthquake in Pakistan with almost the same intensity—are they still testing nukes?”

Another user even questioned whether the earthquake was caused by India’s air strikes or activities at nuclear sites in Pakistan. The hashtag #OperationSindoor was used by some to link the tremors with India's recent military operation against terrorism.

No nuclear tests detected

Experts, however, strongly rejected these claims. NCS Director O P Mishra explained that there is a big difference between natural earthquakes and nuclear explosions. He said that nuclear tests have a different pattern when recorded on a seismograph—a device that measures ground movements.

“A natural earthquake has two phases, but a nuclear blast shows an extra phase. This is because the ground reacts differently after an explosion. The seismograph clearly detects this,” Mishra told PTI.

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Veteran seismologist A K Shukla supported this view. He said that nuclear explosions appear very differently on seismograph readings. He also pointed out that the recent earthquakes came from different parts of Pakistan, which makes it unlikely that they were nuclear tests. “It is not possible to have nuclear sites spread all over the country,” he said.

Pakistan often experiences earthquakes because it lies on the boundary where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. Provinces like Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are especially prone to frequent tremors.

In conclusion, while there have been several earthquakes in Pakistan recently, experts say they are natural and not connected to nuclear tests or military actions.