Germany said it carried out on Friday the first deportation of Afghans back to their home country since Taliban authorities took power in August 2021, as Berlin faces pressure to crack down on migration.

“These were Afghan nationals, all of whom were convicted offenders who had no right to stay in Germany and against whom deportation orders had been issued,” government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement.

A chartered Qatar Airways flight bound for Kabul took off from Leipzig airport just before 0500 GMT with 28 Afghans on board, Der Spiegel magazine said, citing security sources.

The operation was the result of two months of “secret negotiations” in which Qatar acted as the go-between between Berlin and the Taliban authorities, Spiegel reported.

Hebestreit said Germany had “asked key regional partners for support in order to facilitate the deportations”, without giving more details.

Germany completely stopped deportations to Afghanistan and closed its embassy in Kabul following the Taliban administration taking power in 2021.

Friday’s deportation comes as the German government faces growing calls to curb illegal migration and take tougher action against dangerous and convicted asylum seekers, following a series of high-profile crimes by migrant suspects.

Germany is still reeling from last week’s knife attack at a street festival in the western city of Solingen that left three people dead, allegedly committed by a 26-year-old Syrian man with links to the Islamic State group.

The suspect was meant to have been deported to Bulgaria weeks ago but the operation failed after authorities were unable to locate him.

In May, a 25-year-old Afghan was accused of killing a police officer in a knife attack on a market square in the city of Mannheim.

The stabbing shocked Germany and revived debate about deporting serious criminals even if they come from countries deemed unsafe like Afghanistan or Syria.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Thursday that Germany would resume expulsions to Syria and Afghanistan “very soon”, as part of a package of measures to tighten security and asylum policies.

Discontent about immigration is expected to play a key role in two closely-watched regional elections in eastern Germany this Sunday, where the far-right AfD party is expected to make big gains.