Why are the Hindu Kush and Pamirs prone to earthquakes?

The Hindu Kush and the Pamirs are prone to earthquakes because they are located in a region of intense, ongoing geological activity resulting from the collision of the Indian and Eurasian continental plates. This collision, which began approximately 50 million years ago, continues today as India moves northward into Asia at a rate of about 2.4 inches (6 cm) per year.12

As a result of this convergence, the Hindu Kush and the Pamirs constitute the most seismically active intermediate-depth earthquake zone in the world. The earthquakes in this region are unique because they originate at significant depths, typically between 100 and 140 miles (160 and 230 km) below the surface, within a 25-mile- (40-km-) wide belt. The entire region remains actively deforming as the crust is compressed and thickened by the persistent northward pressure of the Indian plate against the Asian continental lithosphere.12