 He joined the front ranks in Fatima Jinnah's electoral campaign, when she challenged the General Ayub Khan's dictatorship.Sherpao was a close ally of the former President and Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and a co-founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).On 25 December 1971 Sherpao became the 15th Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa shortly after Bhutto had become President of Pakistan.