"I pledge to bring normalcy in the state," Azad said after he was sworn in as Indian occupied Kashmir's 10th chief minister.
"The peace process will have to continue, and people will have to be provided corruption-free government," he said at a heavily guarded venue in occupied Srinagar.
Azad urged Indian occupation troops and freedom fighters to refrain from violence and work towards peace in the state.
He told Indian troops, "I will not tolerate any custodial death," referring to the claims that freedom fighters are killed in custody and the deaths covered up as the results of shootouts with the occupation security forces.
But freedom fighters "will also have to change or face strict action," he said.
The ceremony took place hours after the suicide bomb attack, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed the responsibility in a telephone call to the local news agency Current News Service.
"The car bomb is our first gift to Ghulam Nabi Azad," Abu Qudama, spokesman for Jaish-e-Mohammed, reportedly told another news agency, the Kashmir News Service.
A police spokesman said investigators were uncertain of the suicide bomber's intended target.