Background
Khan was born in Hoshiarpur, eastern Punjab, in June 1932. His father, Nazir Ahmad Khan, was an educationalist who spent his working life striving to uplift the educational abilities of young Muslims, many of whom were from underprivileged backgrounds.
Education
Tanvir Ahmad Khan was educated at Government College, Lahore and later continued his studies at Brasenose College, Oxford. At Oxford, Tanvir Ahmad Khan read English Literature - earning a Bachelor Honours / Master of Arts. Thereafter he returned to Government College Lahore to teach English Literature at his former alma mater, before leaving academia to join government service.
Career
He retired as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan. He held various key diplomatic offices during his long career including serving as Ambassador in Moscow (Russian Federation), Paris (France), Tehran (Iran) and Dhaka (Bangladesh). Khan served as Pakistan"s ambassador to the Russian Federation, Bangladesh, Czechoslovakia, Iran, France, and was accredited to Ireland and Finland.
Before he served as Pakistan"s ambassador, he had held senior positions in Pakistan"s missions in London, Bonn, Kabul and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Islamabad (including additional foreign secretary and director general).
Foreign Secretary Khan served as the 19th Foreign Secretary under the Government of Benazir Bhutto in 1989-1990 and twice served as Information Secretary to the Government of Pakistan. After retiring Khan twice served as chairman and director general of the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad.