As families were rushing their children to the hospital in Lahore, a part of the social media in Pakistan was more concerned with whether the Eiffel Tower changed its colours to show solidarity with Pakistan or not. If you are more concerned about the green on Eiffel Tower rather than the red at Iqbal Park, Lahore then you are not showing solidarity with the victims, you are exploiting the emotions of people to support your own myopic and xenophobic world views.

Pakistan has received messages of support from all round the world. No monument in Pakistan has ever been draped in colours of another country to show support and solidarity when they have been attacked by terrorists. Instead, the social media of Pakistan focuses on whether the terrorists were Muslims or not. 

Humanity should not be selective but it is human nature to feel the pain closer to home more. A bomb blast in Lahore hurts more than a bomb blast in Brussels. Similarly for Europe, Paris hurts more than Peshawar. It should not be taken to mean that the cost of human life is any less depending on where it is lost. 

It may be natural to feel hurt at European countries not making the same grand gestures for Lahore as they did for Brussels or Paris but neither did Pakistan reciprocate when terrorist attacks happened in those countries. 

The problem for us is much more than a simple case of Quid Pro Quo. By moving the conversation from an internal introspection as to why Pakistan continues to suffer from terrorism to suggesting a global conspiracy, we are condemning ourselves to a vicious cycle of violence. 

Pakistan has suffered from numerous terrorist attacks for the past 15 years but we simply put the blame on foreign agencies and/or funding, and move on. By promoting the idea that the world is simply against us and we have made no mistakes in our policy decisions, we continue to make the same mistakes and we continue to suffer. 

It does not take much for people to make the slippery slope argument from 'The world does not care about us' to 'the world commits terrorism against Pakistan'. By making the Eiffel Tower the center piece of the conversation, you are spreading hate and xenophobia against the west. 

Hate is the reason we got here in the first place. It has barely been a week since the attack, now is the time to grief. It is not the time to promote conspiracy theories. Do you really think the families who have lost their children care about what colour the Eiffel Tower is tonight? 

Such conversations also divide people in our own country along ideological lines. People are criticizing for standing in solidarity with Paris or Brussels. They are labelled as being pro-westerners and anti-Pakistanis, as if both are necessarily the same thing. 

If you look beyond your myopia, you will see that people from all around the world have poured in their sympathies and condolences. The people of the world are united, even if their governments may make us think otherwise. 

Terrorism does not discriminate between people so why should we?  

Do not laugh at people dying on the streets of Paris just because your sentiments were hurt when the Eiffel Tower did not change its colours to you. As much as you would like to pretend that it is about Pakistan and the victims, it really is about you and your ego. No one should look for validation for their grief from global monuments. 

Will the tragedy be more amplified for you if Facebook introduces a filter for your profile picture?

Will you be able to hear the cries of the families better if Snapchat introduces snaps from Lahore? 

Will you be able to feel solidarity more if Obama cries on television? 

The country should be focused on Lahore right now, by moving the conversation to Paris, we are ignoring the people who need us the most right now; the survivors. 

By constantly criticizing social media websites or western countries, we fail to introspect about the mistakes we have made as a nation that have led to so many children losing their childhood. 

Let me try to explain the problem with saying "Pakistanis were attacked" over "Christians were attacked" is by drawing a parallel.

There is a movement called "Black Lives Matter" in the United States to draw attention to the systematic racism against Black people.

Some far right groups are dismissive of the movement and they say "Why not All Lives Matter", the same people say why not "humanism" when they are met with feminism.

It is obvious that All Lives Matter, and Black Lives Matter do not say that all lives do not, but Black lives are the ones being targeted and marginalized.

Do white people also suffer from racism? Yes. 
Do cops kill white people too in America? Yes. 
Does that disprove that black people are specifically targeted? No.

Yes Christians are Pakistanis and all Pakistanis, especially Muslims, have suffered tremendously from terrorism in Pakistan but minorities, specifically religious minorities including sects, are particularly targeted by terrorists.

By replacing Christian Lives Matter to All Lives Matter, we are moving away from the issue. The issue is the systematic marginalization of minorities in Pakistan.

It is not just from the TTP, it is the way they are treated daily by people. It is the way they are hated and ignored.

By saying minorities are targeted in Pakistan, you are not saying that every Muslim in Pakistan is a racist or a terrorist but you are drawing attention to a real issue. You are showing that you stand with the people who have been oppressed. You are standing for their rights.

We all have rights and all our lives matter but by drawing attention to the specific plight of the oppressed, you do not claim that Christians are not Pakistanis or Blacks are not "all". You simply identify that you do not stand for the specific racism or targeting or marginalization.

To say all lives matter is dismissing centuries of racism. And that is also the problem by saying "Pakistanis are targeted". If we do not learn to deal with our problems over fear of "log kya kahein gay poora Pakistan terrorist hai", we will continue to suffer.