Decision by Ofcom – DM Digital Television Limited (DM Digital - POAF)
| Published date | 05 July 2013 |
| Issuer | Office of Communications |
Sanction 77(12)
1
Sanction: Decision by Ofcom
To be imposed on DM Digital Television Limited
For material broadcast on 25 November 2011 and 4 December 20111.
Ofcom’s consideration of a
Sanction against: DM Digital Television Limited (the “Licensee”) in respect
of its service DM Digital (TLCS-873).
For: Breaches of the Broadcasting Code (the “Code”)2 in
respect of:
Rule 5.4: “Programmes in the services...must
exclude all expressions of the views and
opinions of the person providing the
service on matters of political and
industrial controversy and matters
relating to current public policy (unless
that person is speaking in a legislative
forum or in a court of law). Views and
opinions relating to the provision of
programme services are also excluded
from this requirement”.
Rule 5.5: “Due impartiality on matters of political or
industrial controversy and matters
relating to current public policy must be
preserved on the part of any person
providing a service...This may be
achieved within a programme or over a
series of programmes taken as a whole”.
On: POAF Conference (“the Programmes”),
25 November 2011 at 21:00 and 4
December 2011 at 21:00
Decision: To impose a financial penalty (payable
to HM Paymaster General) of £20,000;
and
To issue a direction to the Licensee
directing it to broadcast a statement of
Ofcom’s findings in this sanctions case,
on a date and in a form to be determined
by Ofcom.
1 The material broadcast on DM Digital and found in breach of Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code is detailed
in Broadcast Bulletin 205, dated 8 May 2012. See:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/enforcement/broadcast-bulletins/obb205/obb205.pdf .
2 The version of the Code which was in force at the time of the broadcasts took effect on 28 February
2011. All references to the Code in this Preliminary View are therefore references to that version of
the Code (unless otherwise specified) which can be found at:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code/
Sanction 77(12)
2
Executive Summary
1. DM Digital is a television channel primarily aimed at an Asian audience in the UK, which
features broadcasts in a number of languages including English, Punjabi, Urdu, Sindhi,
Kashmiri and Hindi. The service is also received in the Middle East and parts of Asia.
2. In Ofcom’s finding (“the Finding”) published on 8 May 2012 in Broadcast Bulletin 2053,
the Executive found that material broadcast by the Licensee breached Rules 5.4 and 5.5
of the Code.
3. The Finding related to two programmes which included coverage of a conference, held in
the UK, of the Pakistan Overseas Alliance Forum (“POAF”) 4. In this sanctions paper
these broadcasts are referred to, for the sake of convenience, as POAF Conference or
“the Programmes”. Each programme was in Urdu and was approximately three hours in
duration.
4. In the Finding, Ofcom stated that the breaches of Rules 5.4 and 5.5 were so serious as
to warrant the consideration of a statutory sanction.
5. In relation to Rule 5.4, the Finding stated that in both Programmes Dr. Liaqat Malik, the
Chief Executive and Chairman of the Licensee was expressing his views on matters of
political and industrial controversy and matters relating to current public policy in
contravention of Rule 5.4 of the Code5.
6. The Finding also found that both Programmes gave one-sided views on matters of
political and industrial controversy and matters relating to current public policy, in
contravention of Rule 5.5 of the Code. In particular:
• in the programme broadcast on 25 November 2011, there were a number of
statements that Ofcom considered to be highly critical of some of the policies and
actions of the MQM6, including allegations of violence and killings sanctioned by
the MQM, that had taken place in Karachi during 2011, but did not reflect
alternative viewpoints, such as the viewpoint of the MQM as regards its policies
and actions as the governing political party in Sindh province, especially in
relation to the allegations that it had sanctioned violence and killings in Karachi;
and
3 See Finding at: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/enforcement/broadcast-
bulletins/obb205/obb205.pdf
4 POAF describes itself as a “non political and non religious welfare organisation for overseas
Pakistanis and dedicated to welfare of all overseas Pakistanis”. See http://poafglobaltrust.com/ The
POAF website contains various references to and appears to have close links to DM Digital and its
Chairman, Dr. Liaqat Malik: see e.g.
http://www.poafglobaltrust.com/DrLiaqatMalikChairmanProfile.htm; and
http://www.poafglobaltrust.com/DMDigitalNetworkProfile.htm
5 As Ofcom’s Guidance Notes make clear, as Dr. Liaqat Malik, is a “company officer” and a person
that holds “editorial responsibility for the service”, he would be considered the “person providing the
service”.
6 Muttahida Qaumi Movement (“MQM”), currently the governing political party in the Pakistani
province of Sindh.
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