A pregnant woman was shot at and wounded on Saturday while waiting at the gate of a private school in Karachi's Korangi neighbourhood, according to police and hospital officials.

The 36-year-old woman, identified as Mrs Kiran, had gone to Karachi Public School near Korangi Crossing-2 with her husband, Amjad, for their son's admission.

She was seated inside their car and waiting for her husband to return from inside the school when two suspects riding a motorbike appeared. They shot at and injured her critically before fleeing.

The wounded woman was taken to Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for treatment. Dr Seemin Jamali, executive director of the hospital, said that the woman is seven months pregnant and has sustained a wound in the chest from a bullet which went through her arm.

Jamali said that the woman's condition is improving, adding that she belongs to the Christian community.

An officer of the Ibrahim Hyderi police station claimed that it was not a robbery-related incident as the culprits did not take away anything. The family also told the police that they have no enmity with anyone.

Station Investigation Officer (SIO) Nazar Mohammed Mangrio said that the police have registered a case against two unknown suspects on the complaint of the husband, with the motive listed as unknown. The officer said that the complainant, a resident of Korangi, is an employee at a factory.

A resident of the neighbourhood told Dawn that the area where the incident had occurred was a relatively peaceful one. A police post was established near the school but it had recently fallen vacant.