His themes run from the struggle against oppression to the relationship between words and meanings, between language and awareness and the creative process that produces poetry and other arts. Though intellectually deep, he is often attacked for his unconventional views and life-style. In an age when Pakistani literature and culture acknowledge their Middle Eastern roots, Rashed highlighted the Persian element in the making of his nation's history and psyche. Rashed edited an anthology of modern Iranian poetry which contained not only his own translations of the selected works but also a detailed introductory essay. He rebelled against the traditional form of 'ghazal' and became the first major exponent of 'free verse' in Urdu literature. While his first book, "Mavra", introduced free verse and is more technically accomplished and lyrical. Urdu literary world was shocked when he used the theme of sex in his poems. Any discussion of sex was still considered a taboo back then. His main intellectual and political ideals reached maturity in his last two books.