His father, Nawab Ali Haider Khan, was a notable politician and minister of Assam.
His mother, Husna Ara Begum, was the eldest daughter of Nawab Wasif Ali Mirza of Murshidabad.
Khan studied in Shillong, before proceeding his education at the Aligarh Muslim University.
[1][3] As a member of the Awami League, Khan won a seat during the 1970 Pakistani general election in Kulaura although this term was disrupted by the Bangladesh Liberation War.
He and his brother Ali Safdar Khan participated in the war as commanders of a regiment from the Tripura borders.