 Asad went to the United Kingdom for higher education aged 18, initially to study architecture per his father's wishes but later switching to anthropology.He traveled on a Saudi Arabian passport, as Pakistan did not have naturalized citizenship laws in place yet; later on, he received a Pakistani passport which enabled him to live and work freely in the UK as a Commonwealth citizen.He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an undergraduate degree in 1959 and from the University of Oxford with a Bachelor of Letters degree and, in 1968, a Doctor of Philosophy degree.