Mirza Tahir Ahmed was born at Qadian on 18 December 1928. He obtained his early schooling at Qadian and joined the Government College Lahore in 1944, a few months after the death of his mother (Maryam Begum). After graduating with distinction from the Ahmadiyya Missionary College Rabwah, he obtained his honours degree in Arabic from the University of Punjab, Lahore.
In 1955, he visited England for the first time with his father, who advised him to remain there to improve his knowledge of the English language and acquaint him with European social habits. He studied for 2 and a half years at SOAS, University of London. He returned in December 1957 without achieving any degree. Instead, during his stay in London, he visited different parts of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and also some parts of Western Europe.
Upon his return in 1957 he married Asifa Begum, and was appointed the vice president of the newly founded Waqf-e-Jadid foundation. The main task of the Waqf-e-Jadid was to educate the community members living in rural areas of Pakistan. It was as part of his work in Waqf-e-Jadid that he also started treating poor people with homeopathy.
During the Pakistani parliamentary investigations regarding the status of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a delegation comprising of 5 members was sent to plead its case. Among the panel Mirza Tahir Ahmad was the youngest member. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was declared Non-Muslim by the Pakistani National Assembly. This has remained their constitutional and legal position in Pakistan to this day.
