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.

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

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

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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.