Khan was born on 26 October 1942 in Cairo, Egypt to an Egyptian born Italian mother and a Pakistani father. After completing his high school education in Egypt, he went on to study at the London School of Film Technique (now known as The London International Film School) between 1962 and 1963. He directed several 8mm films. In 1963, he returned to Egypt and worked in the script department of the General Egyptian Film Organization. Between 1964 and 1966, he worked as an assistant director in Lebanon. He then moved again in England, where he wrote his book “An Introduction to the Egyptian Cinema”, published by Informatics in 1969. He edited another Book entitled “Outline of Czechoslovakian Cinema”, which was also published by Informatics in 1971.

His 1983 film The Street Player was entered into the 13th Moscow International Film Festival. According to a book issued by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in December 2007, Khan’s Ahlam Hind we Kamilia (1988) is one of the 100 landmarks in the history of the Egyptian cinema.