Ahmed attended the University of Cambridge, UK, receiving PhD in experimental physics working with Ernest Rutherford[1] in 1925[4] from Cambridge University; his PhD thesis title was "Absorption and scattering of γ-rays".

[5] In 1926 Ahmed joined Arthur Holly Compton's expedition to Kashmir to study the effects of altitude and latitude on cosmic rays.

[4] While living in Bombay, he married Razia, a member of the Khader Nawaz Khan family of Madras and the Carnatic Sultanate; her sister Rafia married Ahmed's friend, the naval officer HMS Choudri.

On 9 June 1938, George VI appointed Ahmed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

[4][6] Ahmed was involved in efforts to build a heavy water plant at Multan, but the Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation turned down his request.