ISLAMABAD — Reintegrating Afghan refugees is critical to the country’s peaceful future as social cohesion will be reduced without it, a U.N. official said Friday.

Some 2.2 million Afghans have crossed the border from Iran and Pakistan since the start of the year, according to the latest figures from the U.N. refugee agency. They arrive in a country struggling with climate change, a stagnant economy and a humanitarian crisis. Some 60% of those returning to Afghanistan are under 18.

Stephanie Loose, a country program manager at U.N. Habitat, said reintegrating these millions was critical for a peaceful future in Afghanistan.

“If you come back to a country where resources are already scarce, there’s a lot of competition already for jobs, land, housing, any sort of services, it’s clear that

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