Pakistan to create 1,000 courts to tackle violence against women

Chief justice says in televised speech that abuse survivors will be able to 'speak their heart without any fear'

Pakistan is to set up more than 1,000 courts dedicated to tackling violence against women, the country's top judge has announced, seeking to tackle a problem activists say the criminal justice system has long neglected.

Chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa said the special courts would allow victims to speak out without fear of retaliation in the conservative Muslim country, where domestic violence is often seen as taboo.