Angela Merkel’s political allies have called for a change in the government approach to migrants following the Berlin truck attack which killed at least 12 people and injured dozens more.

A man arrested in connection with the attack has been named by local media as ‘Naved B’, a 23-year-old asylum seeker from Pakistan.

The comments will put pressure on the German leader, along with the more anticipated criticism from her rivals in the right-wing Alternative for Germany party (AfD).

“We owe it to the victims, to those affected and to the whole population to rethink our immigration and security policy and to change it,” said Horst Seehofer, leader of Bavaria’s Christian Social Union (CSU) – the sister party to Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU).

The parties form part of a conservative bloc making up the current government, of which Ms Merkel takes the helm.

The CSU have previously expressed their doubts to Ms Merkel’s open-door policy on asylum seekers, a million of whom have entered Germany over the last year.

In September 2015, the party said it was “the wrong decision” to let a wave of migrants into the country from Hungary.

There were also strong words from within Ms Merkel’s own party. The interior minister of the German state of Saarland, Klaus Bouillon, told German radio: “We must say that we are in a state of war, although some people, who always only want to see good, do not want to see this.”

Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Show all 18 1 /18 Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Several people have been killed after a lorry drove into crowds at a Christmas market in Berlin REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch Berlin Christmas market lorry attack 'At least nine' people have been killed and more than 50 injured. AP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Emergency Services rush a Berlin market victim to an ambulance Associated Press Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Police cordoned off the square at Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church following the incident REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Rescue workers inspect the lorry that crashed into a Christmas market close to the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church in Berlin EPA Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Emergency crews inspect the lorry that ploughed into a Berlin Christmas market, killing at least nine people AFP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Fire crews attend the scene of the attack AFP/Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Armed police secure the site of a lorry attack at a Christmas market in Berlin REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Crushed debris is visible beneath the wheels of the vehicle REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack An injured man is pushed to an ambulance REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Medics attend an injured person after the lorry attack which killed at least nine and injured more than 50 people AFP/Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Firefighters examine the lorry which was rammed into a Berlin Christmas market REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack A person is carried into an ambulance REUTERS Berlin Christmas market lorry attack View of the lorry that crashed into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing at least nine and injuring at least 50 people AFP/Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Rescue workers push a person on a stretcher to an ambulance Getty Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Firefighters assess the damage after the lorry rammed the Christmas market, killing 'at least nine', and injuring more than 50 people AP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Firefighters stand beside a toppled Christmas tree at the site of the suspected terrorist attack in a Berlin Christmas market AP Berlin Christmas market lorry attack Damaged stalls at the scene of the incident at a Berlin Christmas market where at least nine people have been killed EPA

The anti-immigration AfD also sought to exert pressure on Ms Merkel, who they will face in elections next year.

The open-door policy was directly attacked by AfD leader Dr Frauke Petry, who wrote on Facebook: “We must not be under any illusions. The milieu in which such deeds can thrive has been created through negligence and been systematically imported over the past year and a half.

“This case is not an isolated incident. That teaches us the look abroad, mainly to France. The Christmas market was not a random target. It’s not just an attack on our freedom and our way of life, but also for our Christian tradition.

“On the immigration issue Germany is a politically divided country. The terror will unite us.”

In addition, just minutes after the attack took place – and before it was confirmed as terrorist related – Eurosceptic MEP Marcus Pretzell blamed the Chancellor for the attack.

Merkel 'shocked and deeply saddened' by Berlin market attack

“When will the German rule of law strike back?” tweeted Marcus Pretzell, an AfD MEP. “When will this cursed hypocrisy end? It is Merkel’s dead!”