The tremor measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale was the biggest to hit the country since a 6.0-magnitude shock on November 6. A total of 1,340 aftershocks have rattled the region since the October 8 disaster.

"It was a moderate aftershock," meteorological department official Mohammad Arifullah said, adding that it was felt simultaneously in Peshawar, Abbotabad, Mansehra, Batgram and the capital Islamabad at 1:26 pm (0826 GMT).

The epicentre was 200 kilometers (125 miles) northeast of Peshawar, he said, in the same region where the original quake killed more than 74,000 people in Pakistan and India.

Arifullah said two mild aftershocks of 5.0 and 4.0 magnitude were felt in the same region on Sunday morning.