Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistani Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar was blocked from leaving the country Thursday after Pakistan's Supreme Court struck down an amnesty that had protected politicians from corruption charges, state media reported.
Nearly 280 government officials and ministers have been placed on an exit control list by the high court, said Wajid Hasan, Pakistan's high commissioner in Britain.
The 17-judge court invalidated the National Reconciliation Order on Wednesday, saying in its ruling that the amnesty "seems to be against the national interest" and "violates various provisions of the Constitution."
The order, passed in October 2007 under then-President Pervez Musharraf, only covered alleged wrongdoing that occurred between 1986 through 1999. The order, which expired last month, protected thousands of bureaucrats and politicians, including President Asif Ali Zardari and his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, from corruption and criminal charges.
Mukhtar, among the officials once protected by the order, was on an official trip to China when he was stopped at the Islamabad airport.
Pakistan's Supreme Court said its ruling revived all cases that had been suspended or withdrawn under the amnesty.
Zardari's government released a brief statement Thursday saying: "The government respects the judgment of the Supreme Court and is awaiting the detailed judgment. However, the government has already started consulting the legal experts for its implementation."
CNN's Nic Robertson and Arwa Damon contributed to this report.
