Jason Burke on the front line in Bajaur

Bajaur, poor, hostile and remote, is high on the Afghan-Pakistan border. That's why the militants chose it as a base. The only way there is by air or a five-hour drive from Peshawar, the nearest city Photograph: Jason Burke/Observer

It is also perfect guerrilla terrain, full of gulleys, ridges, woods and fields. In this anarchic land, even ordinary homes are forts and have been for centuries Photograph: Jason Burke/Observer

This base was captured by the army last month after a fierce fight. The soldiers are from the other side of Pakistan. To them, Bajaur is another country Photograph: Jason Burke/Observer

Partly in punishment for harbouring militants, partly to secure clear fields of fire, the army has razed entire villages. Reconstruction will be long and expensive but essential to stop the militants returning Photograph: Jason Burke/Observer

Although billions of dollars of American aid has poured into the Pakistani military's coffers – buying this soldier's flak jacket, for example – equipment often remains rudimentary Photograph: Jason Burke/Observer

Troops moving through a village taken only hours earlier talk to their commanders in a nearby compound... Photograph: Jason Burke/Observer

... who are in contact with their commander at the base from where airstrikes and artillery are coordinated. The soldiers are paid around £80 a month Photograph: Jason Burke/Observer

Soldiers live, work and pray on their bases. The vast majority are devout. For them, this is not about a war on terror, this is about their country and its future Photograph: Jason Burke/Observer

The commander of the operation in Bajaur is Major-General Tariq Khan who stops for an impromptu pep talk with tank crews Photograph: Jason Burke/Observer

The crews fought the previous day in a short, sharp engagement that pushed the front forward 1,500 metres. They got a bonus as a result Photograph: Jason Burke/Observer

In Loesam, the village captured the day before, the Pakistani army settles in. Their nation may be shedding hangovers from the colonial era but some – such as tea – are taking longer than others to fade away Photograph: Jason Burke/Observer

A tank and its crew were lost to enemy fire at the beginning of the Bajaur operation. Eighty-four Pakistani soldiers have been killed Photograph: Observer

The militants once numbered around 5,000 and army intelligence believes half have been killed although no one knows the real figure. Many have fled and reinforcements come in over the passes from Afghanistan and from inside Pakistan. This war is a far from over Photograph: Jason Burke/Observer