The quake was felt at 3:04 am (2204 GMT Wednesday) in several cities including the capital Islamabad and the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, devastated by the massive October 8 quake, seismologists said.

Since the 7.6-magnitude quake that killed more than 73,000 people in Pakistan, a total of 1,518 aftershocks have rocked the region. The last one, on December 25, measured 5.2 on the Richter scale.

The epicentre of Thursday's aftershock was in Hazara division, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Islamabad, a seismological department official told AFP.

Residents panicked but there were no reports of any casualties or damage, the official said.

The seismological department has said that aftershocks will continue to hit the country for the next two months.