Paleostress reconstruction from striated fault data sets in the Kirthar fold belt, southern Pakistan

The Kirthar fold belt (KFB) is one of the N-S-trending portions of the thru st belts of western Pakistan. In the study area (some 150 km north of Karac hi), the KFB consists of large-scale, open NNW-SSE anticlines that affect t he outcropping Kirthar and Nari formations. From an analysis of more than 2 00 minor strike-slip and reverse faults from 14 different data stations, tw o main sigma (1) directions were identified, ENE and ESE. The ESE stress is interpreted as the regional, primary stress field, and the ENE direction a s a deflection of the former caused by the presence and activity of NNW-tre nding macrostructures (folds and strike-slip faults).