of too many influential feudal lords and stiff resistance was expected from them anyway to any socialist-type land reforms. He was elected twice as member of the National Assembly of Pakistan on Pakistan Peoples' Party tickets both in 1970 General Election in Pakistan and 1977 Pakistani general election. Sheikh Mohammad Rashid remained close to the then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who treated him as his most senior cabinet colleague, perhaps to retain a balance between the progressive and conservative elements within the party. It was during the period of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq as the military ruler, that Sheikh Rashid's role as an ideologue for thousands of party workers, was boosted. Once the Bhutto government was overthrown by General Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan Peoples Party workers including Rashid were repressed and he spent many years in exile in Britain. Then in September 1988, General Zia died in a mysterious plane crash and attempts at restoring democracy to Pakistan were made. Benazir Bhutto returned triumphantly to Pakistan to campaign for the upcoming 1988 Pakistani general election. Out of tune with Benazir Bhutto Sheikh Mohammad Rashid failed to get re-elected in the 1988 national election. However, the PPP's return to power in 1988 marked the beginning of his gradual alienation with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who regarded his socialist ideals as being increasingly out of tune with contemporary trends. Despite ideological differences with the leadership, Sheikh Mohammad Rashid, unlike many other fellow party members, remained steadfast with his commitment to the party and never joined any other political group. He was refused a PPP party ticket to contest the 1990 elections in Pakistan. Death and legacy Sheikh Mohammad Rashid had asthma for a long time and finally died in Lahore, aged 87, on 12 September 2002. His survivors included his wife Shakeela and his four sons from his previous marriage. An uncompromising socialist In the early years of Pakistan, there is an often told story of a debate on the party's drafted charter that Faiz Ahmed Faiz had drafted for the Azad Pakistan Party. Everyone accepted Faiz's draft but Sheikh Rashid. This debate took place among the founders of the party over a word which Sheikh Rashid alone wanted changed. Of course the word was about the distribution of land among the peasants. He debated the rest of the party founders over it for many hours because he wanted it expressed a certain way.