A strong earthquake lasting for at least 30 seconds was felt across much of Pakistan Tuesday night, witnesses said.

"People ran out of their houses and were reciting the Koran," an AFP correspondent in Rawalpindi said, with similar reports coming from the capital Islamabad, Lahore and elsewhere in the country.

Residents in the capital fled their homes as walls started swaying and the quake was felt across the country. Pakistan's meteorological office said the earthquake was a magnitude 7.7.

There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries.