ISLAMABAD - PAKISTAN Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said his government was considering a strategy for tackling unrest in north-western Swat valley that would not cause collateral damage in the region.

Pakistan's military is battling extremists loyal to radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah, who is waging a violent campaign to introduce Islamic Shariah law in Swat, a mountainous valley that once attracted Western holidaymakers.

'In Swat, the dialogue did not work, therefore the government had to change the strategy from dialogue to military action,' Mr Gilani told a news conference here.

'We are looking at various options. We have both the capacity and the will, but we want such a strategy in which there is no collateral damage.'

Mr Gilani said that his government was aware of the suffering caused by the conflict to the area's inhabitants.

'We are careful about people's lives and property and also mindful of people abandoning their homes,' he said.

Mr Gilani emphasised that the unrest in Swat could not be tackled by the military alone and that political action and dialogue were also needed.

'We are finding a way out. We do not want to disclose the strategy right now, but soon Swat will be peaceful, like rest of the country,' said Mr Gilani, adding that he would visit the region soon.

On Sunday the military said that it had killed 16 militants and lost one of its soldiers in battles in various parts of Swat valley.

Fazlullah's men have executed dozens of state employees and government supporters in the valley in recent months, and residents say government control is practically non-existent there.

Education ministry official Sher Afzal told AFP last month that Fazlullah followers had blown up 173 schools, 105 of them for girls, since security forces launched an operation to crack down on militants in the region in 2007. -- AFP