German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser says Berlin has deported Afghan criminals back to their home country for the first time since Taliban authorities took power in 2021, as the government faces pressure to get tougher on migration. "We have enforced the law and deported criminals back to Afghanistan," she tells reporters. "If there is an enforceable obligation to leave the country, we make sure that we can do it. There is no ban on deportations to Afghanistan that would have prevented this." Faeser also refers to enhanced controls on weapons, speaking exactly a week after a deadly knife attack at a street festival in the western city of Solingen, claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES