A magnitude 6.5 earthquake rattled much of Afghanistan and Pakistan on Tuesday, sending panicked residents fleeing from their homes and frightening people even in remote villages.

Twelve people were injured in northwest Pakistan in the quake, which was centered in Afghanistan and also felt in bordering Tajikistan.

The tremors were so powerful that many people fled their homes and offices in Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, some reciting verses from the Quran, Islam's holy book.

The U.N. World Food Programme has been forced to cut rations to 4 million Afghans this month, it said in a statement late on Friday, due to a funding shortfall in the midst of the country's severe humanitarian crisis.

"Due to funding constraints, at least four million people will receive just half of what they need to get by in March," the statement said, adding the U.N. food agency urgently needs $93 million in funding to reach 13 million people in Afghanistan in April.