ISLAMABAD Despite Governments frequent clarifications that only record note for Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement was not a binding as an agreement, sources in Foreign Office find hardly any option for Pakistan to deviate from the document signed. According to the sources, the minutes (record note) of the ministerial meeting on APTTA singed by the respective ministers carry an extraordinary weight for being inked in the presence of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The sources informed TheNation that the purpose of hurriedly signing the understanding - that too in the presence of the US Secretary of State - was meant to tag the would-be agreement with a side letter for transit facility to Indian goods. That is why, the sources added, not only the political circles but also the security quarters have raised eyebrows on this clause of the record note that assures issuance of a side letter for Indian goods transit to Afghanistan. Thus, the record note, according to the sources, is effective even more than any agreement signed bilaterally. They believe that its importance could be gauged by the presence of the third party at the signing of the record note. They referred to the US Secretary of State. They claimed that she actually got minutes of the meeting including the commitment to provide a side letter for transit of Indian goods singed in her presence. No Indian exports to Afghanistan will be allowed through Wagah at this stage. However, feasible proposal in this regard could be discussed at an appropriate time in the future. Pakistan will provide a side letter to Afghanistan giving this understanding. The side letter shall not be part of the Afghanistan Pakistan Trade Agreement, reads the relevant clause of the record note. Besides being self-explanatory, this clause also explains why the US Secretary of State considered it necessary to get it signed in her presence as third party guarantor without being officially part of this understanding, the sources informed. In fact the two sides including Afghanistan and Pakistan that were to finalise this agreement later this month or early next month were made to do it quickly as soon as the Secretary of State visits here. That is why Afghan delegation rushed to Islamabad as against the scheduled visit of Pakistani team to Kabul and after going through day and night meetings for a few days reached this understanding perforce, that was signed in the form of record note. According to the sources, reported US interest in this bilateral understanding was only getting transit route for India through Pakistan up to Afghanistan. Pakistans unequivocal policy does not leave any room for even considering this facility for India even under the US pressure, the sources added. Therefore, the Government considered giving such open-ended assurance to discuss feasible proposals and issue a side letter that would not be part of the agreement as the only amicable way out of this deadlock, the sources added. They, however, conceded that Pakistan once again has got into the US net in this regard because the latter would not allow an iota of deviation from the singed record note.