After his education at a boarding school, Asghar Khan was sent to attend the Royal Indian Military College in 1933 where he secured his matriculation in 1939, subsequently joining the Kashmir State FOrces in 1939. After graduating from the Indian Military Academy 1940, he gained a commission in the British Indian Army as the Second lieutenant in the Royal Deccan Horse attached to the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army in December 1940. In 1941, Lieutenant Asghar Khan was seconded to the Royal Indian Air Force, joining the No. 9 Squadron as its military adviser during the Burma fronts. In 1942, Captain Khan was transferred to the Royal Indian Air Force, where he saw actions in the first front in Burma against Japan, and flew bomber missions in the Hawker Hurricane.