He had edited and co-edited a number of magazines, and contributed columns on art and literature to the national Urdu language newspaper Daily Jang.
While working for the guards, Aqeel was witness to extreme scenes of poverty including the spread of cholera amongst migrants.
He called the newspaper editor Maulana Abdul Majeed Salik, journalist Agha Shorish Kashmiri and writer and playwright Saadat Hasan Manto as his defense witnesses.
He was also an art critic and said to be friends with many artists including Sadequain and Ahmed Pervez, poets and writers like Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum and Hafeez Jalandhari, his insight into the world of art was called "exemplary" by poet and drama director Ayub Khawar.
[3] He edited and co-edited a number of magazines, and contributed columns on art and literature to the national Urdu-language newspaper Daily Jang.
He wrote book reviews for the Daily Jang right up until his death, which were described by art critic Quddus Mirza writing in artnow as "frank, candid and cruel to some extent".
"[3] Former editor of Daily Jang newspaper Mahmood Shaam and professor Sahar Ansari also paid their tributes to him after his death.