Pakistani forces pounded militant positions in the Swat valley in the northwest today and a military spokesman said nearly 40 insurgents had been killed in the past 24 hours.
Violence has intensified in Pakistan in recent weeks with the military battling militants in three different parts of the northwest, while the militants have responded with bomb attacks on the security forces.
Deteriorating security has coincided with a faltering economy and political upheaval, with the resignation of the unpopular Pervez Musharraf as president last week followed within days by a split in the ruling coalition.
Worry about security and politics has unnerved investors who have sent Pakistani financial markets skidding lower, with the country's main share index falling about 36 per cent this year.
Some of the most intense fighting has been in the Swat Valley, about 150 km (100 miles) northwest of the capital, Islamabad.
The military used jet fighters and helicopter gunships to attack militant positions in the Matta area on Friday, with the assault continuing through the night until after dawn on Saturday.
Major Nasir Ali, a military spokesman in the region, said nearly 40 militants had been killed in the past 24 hours.
"We have clear-cut orders from the provincial government and the military to complete the operation until the militants are flushed out and the writ of the government is established," Major Ali said.
The mountain valley was one of Pakistan's a main tourist destinations until last year, when Pakistani Taliban infiltrated from sanctuaries in lawless areas on the Afghan border to support a radical cleric campaigning for hardline rule.
Authorities struck a peace pact with militants in the valley in May but it soon broke down and violence surged.