The 5.2 magnitude quake struck at 7:05 a.m. local time in Pakistan, or 6:35 a.m. Afghan time, in the seismically active Hindu Kush mountain range.
The quake jolted people out of bed and sent some rushing into the streets in Pakistan-administered areas of the Kashmir Valley.
There were no reports of injuries or significant damage from the temblor, which struck at a depth of only 9 miles.
An April 2009 quake with an almost identical epicenter killed 22 people in the middle of the night across the same region.
It wrecked many mud-and-brick homes, which collapsed on people sleeping inside. That quake registered a magnitude of 5.5.
Southern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan are frequently hit by strong earthquakes due to their locations along the mountainous Hindu Kush fault.
The mountains are where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates collide.