New Delhi, Oct 27: Senior Indian minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, named on Thursday as the next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said he wanted the peace process with Pakistan to intensify.

Mr. Azad, a senior leader of India’s ruling Congress party, will replace Mufti Moahmmed Sayeed of the People’s Democratic Party on Sunday, as part of a pre-election arrangement.

“My priority will be to push forward the ongoing peace process and to provide relief to the quake-ravaged people of the state,” Mr. Azad said.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which supports the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir from outside, expressed the hope that the change of guard in the state will help reduce the sufferings of the people and strengthen the ongoing peace process.