FRANKFURT - Germany said it resumed flying convicted criminals of Afghan nationality to their home country on Friday, as Berlin reverses a policy to hold off on deportations to the Taliban-ruled country.

The coalition government has come under pressure to take a tougher stance on migration after a deadly stabbing linked to Islamic State at a city festival a week ago and after an Afghan man stabbed a German policeman to death in a knife attack in June.

Spiegel magazine reported that a Kabul-bound flight took off from Leipzig early on Friday with 28 convicted criminals onboard after months of secret negotiations with mediator Qatar.

The government said in a statement it thanked "key regional partners" for their support and added that more such deportations were being worked on.

Berlin had stopped returning people to Afghanistan on human rights concerns after the Taliban took power in 2021.Two eastern regional states, where the anti-immigration AfD party is topping polls, will hold elections on Sunday.Germany said in June it was again considering deporting Afghan migrants who pose a security threat, following the police officer's killing in the city of Mannheim.

Negotiating directly with the Taliban, some of whose officials are under international sanctions, is widely seen as problematic.

  - Reuters