Five moderate earthquakes have been recorded in Balochistan since Thursday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department. A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck Barkhan and surrounding areas on Friday, injuring three people when the roof of a hotel collapsed in Gangri, Musa Khel district. The Express Tribune confirmed that two labourers were immediately shifted to a nearby hospital, and the house of a Musakhel resident also collapsed.
Then a 5.9-magnitude quake hit Saturday evening — this one from Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region, at a depth of 178 kilometres. Dawn confirmed tremors were felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Mansehra, Shangla, Swat, Chakwal, Abbottabad, Taxila, Haripur and Buner — covering most of northern Pakistan in a single tremor.
Six earthquakes in three days across two countries. Pakistan’s chief meteorologist drew a direct line to Venezuela.
“The massive earthquake in Venezuela could have created the release of energy to other fault lines and because Balochistan is on a fault line, there could be more jolts,” the chief meteorologist said, as The Nation reported. He also referred to historical seismic patterns, noting that major earthquakes in Indonesia during the early 2000s were followed by the devastating 2005 Kashmir earthquake — while emphasising that earthquake forecasting remains scientifically impossible.
PM Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over losses caused by the earthquake in Musakhel and directed the NDMA and Balochistan government to immediately accelerate rescue and relief activities, Radio Pakistan confirmed.
Tribune India’s confirmed count puts the total at five earthquakes since Friday with five injured — a tally that does not capture the full picture of structural damage in areas where many houses are built of mud. That last detail matters. Mud houses. In 2026. In a province that produces Pakistan’s natural gas. The earthquake did not need to be large to cause damage. It only needed to hit structures that were never built to survive it.
The same province that is simultaneously managing militant attacks by Fitna al-Hindustan, earthquake damage, and budget cuts to its development share is now being asked to absorb five tremors in 48 hours. Balochistan’s capacity to absorb simultaneous shocks has rarely been tested this severely.
