The 1991 Hindu Kush earthquake severely affected Afghanistan, Pakistan and the USSR (present-day Tajikistan) on 1 February.

The reverse-faulting earthquake occurred in a seismically active region associated with faulting within a deforming oceanic plate at depth.

Their high frequency was described by seismologists Beno Gutenberg and Charles Richter as "abnormal" in their 1954 publication; Seismicity of the Earth.

A 2016 study published in Geophysical Research Letters estimated an annual slip rate of 9.6 cm (3.8 in) on the fault to explain the ten to fifteen year recurrence intervals of Mw  7.0+ earthquakes.

The study states that the subducted slab is vertically plunging into the Earth's deeper interior, causing it to stretch and eventually shear off.

[5]: 49, 50, 51, 52, 55 According to OFDA and CRED, at least 545 people died in Afghanistan,[6] while the state government issued a press release citing 1,000 deaths which was unconfirmed.

[6][7][8] A reconnaissance survey of the area recorded only 181 fatalities, attributing higher figures to heavy snow cover in the affected districts which hindered accessibility and lead to confusion and an overestimate by officials.

[10] In Chitral, 145–150 km (90–93 mi) from the epicenter, twenty percent of pucca construction in the city sustained non-structural damage.

The United Nations Disaster Relief Organization reported on 3 February; the Pakistan government supplied blankets, shelter and medicine.

To facilitate relief and rescue efforts, the government formed provincial-level emergency parties which provided details about the damage and casualties.

The governments of Japan, Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom made large contributions of these items which were in shortage during the immediate disaster aftermath.

Monetary support also came from the governments of Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands and United States, and the Kuwait Red Crescent.