[2] Rashed was born Raja Nazar Muhmmad Janjua into a Punjabi Muslim family of the Janjua clan in the village of Kot Bhaaga, Akaal Garh (now Alipur Chatha),[3] Wazirabad, Gujranwala District, Punjab, and earned a master's degree in economics from the Government College Lahore.
[4] He served for a short time in the Royal Indian Army during the Second World War, attaining the rank of captain.
[4] His readership is limited and recent social changes have further hurt his stature and there seems to be a concerted effort not to promote his poetry.
His first book of free verse, Mavra, was published in 1940 and established him as a pioneering figure in 'free form' Urdu poetry.
[2] His poem "Zindagi sey dartey ho" was set to music in the 2010 Bollywood movie, Peepli Live.