Trained as an architect, he worked with the Pakistani architect and planner Arif Hasan before gaining a PhD in Arts and Humanities from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His doctorate looked at the beliefs, history and architecture of the Suhrawardi Sufi Order in Multan and Uch between 1200 and 1500. He has taught at the Aga Khan University, Karachi, and the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, has been involved with two major research projects, and is part of the French Interdisciplinary Mission, an ongoing project headed by Dr Michel Boivin of the Centre for South Asian Studies (CNRS-EHESS) working on the history and culture of Sehwan Sharif. Dr Khan's research interests include religious studies, Islamic studies and, more specifically, the Alevi community in Turkey.