At least 160 people were killed after a powerful earthquake struck southwestern Pakistan near its border with Afghanistan early on Wednesday, local officials said, adding they feared further deaths.

"Around 160 people have died so far," said Khushal Khan, spokesperson for Zamarak Khan, revenue minister of gas-rich Baluchistan province.

Residents in the region around the historic hill town of Ziarat, about 50 kilometres north of the provincial capital Quetta, told him about 6 000 people have been displaced.

"The toll may go up. The dead included 29 members of the same family," Khushal Khan added.

The 6.4-magnitude quake hit about 70 kilometres north of Quetta and about 185 kilometres southeast of the Afghan city of Kandahar at 5:09am (2309 GMT Tuesday), the US Geological Survey said.

The area around Ziarat was the worst affected as mud houses were destroyed and the tremors triggered landslides of rocks and boulders while people slept.

The Pakistan military has sent teams to the area to assess the damage and help with the relief operation.

AFP