WHO IS ZIA KHAN/ZYA KHAN?

HIS STORY

Zia Khan was born in London on February 5th, 1974. Even if he was born in the UK, he is a proud Afghan. Speaks Arabic, Urdu, Dari and Pashto. He had a terrible relationship with his dad, an OBGYN, who sent him to study at a boarding school in Edimburgh, Scotland. His mother died of breast cancer and he buried her when he was only 17. His younger brother, Salman, who he was really close to, died in an earthquake in Islamabad when he was working for the UN. His sister. Mona, comitted suicide when she was only 28. He is alone in this world.

At only 17, Zia ran away to NY to study at NYU Tisch and become a filmmaker. At only 20, a friend conviced him to go to Serbia during the Balkan War as a war photographer. He sold everything, bought a couple of cameras, and went on to cover his first conflict. He will enumerate all the conflicts he has covered, civil wars and genocides, telling vivid memories of the horrors he has seen. He has died three times, the last one he almost bled to death from his arm, he has a big scar to prove it. And the tattoos of the Serbian sniper towers on his arm. Shrapnel and scars in all his body.

He will about the terrible effects PTSD has in him. Sleepless nights, dead people talking to him at all hours of the night, how he takes refugee in alcohol for all the horrors, how he is a happy drunk. Or mention how a war photographer friend just committed suicide.

His last conflict was Syria, last April 2017. He came back and decided to retire. He is trying to make it in NY as a commercial photographer, working on his resume to start again. He wants to retire in Lisbon or in the middle of nowhere in some remote country. And he wants you to come with him. He is a tortured artist that finally found his soulmate... YOU!

BUT IT IS ALL A LIE!

THE TRUTH

This guy you met in Tinder or Bumble is in reality Nauman (Rahat) Saghir. He was indeed born on February 5th but in 1976. He is neither Afghani, nor born in London. He is Pakistani and that is why he speaks Urdu. He moved to Texas where he attended High School and married right after graduation, probably to get a Green card. The marriage lasted a little over a year. His family still lives in Texas. His mother and at least one of his sisters are very much alive.

He never went to Tisch. And he never went to war. Most of the photos that he shares in his websites and instagram are stolen from other photographers like Pep Bonet and Kim Thue.  At some time he tried to make it as a photographer but his current occupation is more profitable and requires less work.

He is most definitely not a happy drunk and he drinks every single day, morning or night. Whiskey, dry martinis... You name it, he will drink it. And smoke like a chimney. Even more if you are the one paying.

His last conflict was probably with his last "girlfriend". He probably stole everything he could from her and disappeared in thin air. That is a career "Zia" has not decided to retire from yet. While you are at work, he will be "working on his resume" or "working on his book". Or he might be telling you he is bulding his client base as a life coach. More likely he will be hustling in a coffee shop, with free wifi, hunting for the next girl he can stick to and that can pay for his expensive tastes when he is done with you or you discover who he really is.  Get out before it is too late and if it is too late remember to change your locks, call your bank and report him to the police!


UPDATE:  He goes by the name Zya Khan now and poses as a UI/UX designer in San Francisco that at some point worked in Tokyo. Here's the website: https://zyakhan.com/index.html and his new email is zya@zyakhan.com.

UPDATE FALL 2021: He is based in Istanbul, Turkey and trying to obtain a residency permit. He goes by the name Zed Khan. 

You can also email this website to report any info you might have.