Mirza was commissioned in the Pakistan Air Force in 1950. He retired as a wing commander of the Pakistan Air Force in 1969.[2] During the Bangladesh Liberation War, he was the director general of the youth camp (Juba Shibir) where Mukti Bahini officers were trained in India.[2][3][4] He was unaware of the training for Mujib Bahini recruits, which India's Research and Analysis Wing handled.[2] On India's role, he said, "Indian war strategy was carefully thought out and planned. Many military experts consider that the 1971 war was one of the biggest and best-planned in the history of warfare."[3]
After the independence of Bangladesh, Mirza served as the first chief of the Department of Civil Aviation (later renamed the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh).[5] He reconstructed seven airports in Bangladesh that were damaged during the war.[5]