Islamabad: Twenty people were killed and scores were injured in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) after twin earthquakes hit the region and destroyed hundreds of houses.

"Some 20 people have died," said Brigadier Javed Cheema, head of the Interior Ministry's National Crisis Management Cell.

Two earthquakes measuring 5.7 and 5.5 on Richter scale jolted Islamabad, Rawalpindi and several cities of NWFP and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) yesterday (Feb 14, 2004), shaking the ground for several seconds.

The quakes, which struck at 15:30 and 16:58 hours (IST), centred on the Hindukush mountains, about 200 kilometres North East of Peshawar, the capital city of NWFP bordering Afghanistan.

The quakes - roughly 90 minutes apart - toppled walls, set off landslides and damaged homes.

The biggest casualty occurred when 17 people were killed after their pick-up vehicle was caught up in a landslide caused by the earthquake in Battgram area.

Another three people were killed and a large number of others injured in the quake that jolted Tehsil Balakot. Nearly 100 houses collapsed and damaged in six villages of the badly-hit Tehsil.

Tremors are frequently felt in Northern Pakistan and Hindukush range of Afghanistan, where the seismic activity is high due to collision of Indian and Eurasian continental plates in the Earth's crust.