[2] He was directed to attend the Pakistan Naval Academy in Karachi, and passed out with communications at the top of his class when he was conferred the coveted Sword of Honor in 1975.

Raza was posted at the Pakistan Embassy in Muscat in Oman as a defence attaché.

Abbas Raza was appointed to command the 9th Auxiliary Squadron, and briefly tenured as a military secretary to the office of the chief of naval staff at the Navy NHQ in Islamabad as two-star and three-star rank appointments.

[3] In 2011, Raza faced severe criticism from news media pundits of failing to prevent terrorist attack on naval installations, and reportedly was not investigated in this incident by the Naval Intelligence and the Navy's crime branch.

[8] In 2011, Raza was among the four senior admirals who were in the race for the promotion to be promoted as a four-star admiral in the Navy, included with seniority:[9] In 2012, Raza retired from his military service, and eventually joining the Bahria Security System, a private military company specializing in escort and security, as its Managing Director.