He got his elementary education in Ramanath High English School in Hili, Dakshin Dinajpur where his father, Syed Zafar Ahmed, had a business.

[5] Ahmed passed the matriculation and intermediate exam from Mymensingh Zilla School in 1948 and Dhaka College in 1950 respectively.

[6] He worked at the Chamber of Barrister ATM Mustafa at Ramkrishna Mission Road in Dhaka.

[11] Together they had one son Syed Refaat Ahmed, 25th Chief Justice of Bangladesh[12] and a daughter, Tasneem Raina Fateh, a physician.

[9] On July 18, 2004, Sufia established a trust fund titled "Barrister Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Memorial Foundation" at the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.